


Supernatural Twins

by ScarletMarieLeaf



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angels, Blood Drinking, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Companionship, Demons, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Drama, Family Feels, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Horror, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Nephilim
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-14 08:57:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 113,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10533138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarletMarieLeaf/pseuds/ScarletMarieLeaf
Summary: Twins Arashi and Akira Singer were raised into the world of hunters, trained in the art of tracking and killing the monsters lurking in the shadows most other humans believe to be myth, alongside the Winchester boys. Unlike the Winchesters, however, the twins are lucky enough to be able to stay in one place and live somewhat normal lives with her father, Bobby Singer. Unfortunately for these twins, however, they have an unknown secret, a secret that follows them all their lives in the form of a strange, unfathomable dream, even when one of them attempts to trade in the life of a hunter for something....a bit more normal. But when the dreams get more intense and the only man who could possibly bring them clarity goes missing, the twins embark on a journey with the Winchesters to find him and finally put the missing pieces of their lives in place.  This journey, however, is only the beginning for them, as they discover there is more to their little secret than they had ever thought possible.





	1. Ghosts of the Past

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do NOT own any part of Supernatural, which includes the plot or any of the characters. They all belong to Eric Kripke and David Nutter

_The night was quiet, still, the only sound that of the usual nocturnal creatures that roamed about the world as the full moon crossed the starry sky overhead. An owl screeches and mice hurry to safety under the tree roots littering the forest floor. A strong wind blows in, disturbing the canopies overhead. The screech of tires sounds suddenly in the distance, disturbing the once serene atmosphere and frightening the nightly creatures into silence as the roar of an engine draws closer. The darkness is pierced by headlights as they crest a short hill and a blue and brown station wagon appears, barely even touching the asphalt as it practically flew down the back country road._

_The driver clutches tightly to the steering wheel as though it was a life line, hard brown eyes fixated unwaveringly on the dark road ahead; the young man set his jaw tightly as his hands tightened further around the plastic wheel before him, his knuckles turning white with the effort. He turned quickly in his seat, glancing at the back window, as though looking to see if he was being chased, even as the road remained empty behind him, then he returned his attention ahead once more, letting out a quick breath as he continually checked his rearview mirror. Something shifted in the backseat and one hand immediately came off the steering wheel to reach over the empty passenger seat and rest on the side of the car seat buckled in there._

_“Shh, it’s okay, baby girl, go back to sleep.” The man whispered out softly, glancing over his shoulder at the toddler, a small smile touching his lips as the little girl blinked sleepily up at him, her eyelids drooping over her glazed, bright blue eyes. She mumbled something incoherent and lay her head down once more while he pulled her blanket up over her small form, running his fingers carefully through her soft, dirty blond bangs. She gently grabs onto his hand, sighing out softly as she nuzzled into her father’s palm while the man himself smiled faintly once more, feeling his heart ache in his chest as he brushed her cheek with his thumb, tears stinging at the back of his eyes. Blinking rapidly to clear the tears away, the man returned his attention to the road, sighing shakily as he cleared the woods and came to a stop on a set of train tracks._

_With the car in park and the engine cut off, the man leaned heavily back into his seat, letting out a slow breath as he let his eyes slip closed while a few tears escaped down his cheeks. Something pulled at his sleeve, making the man open his eyes once more to glance over his shoulder at the third little hand that held on tight to his arm, causing his faint smile to return. The man shifted in his seat, gently pulling his arm from his children’s grasps as he looked back at both of them; his little girl whimpered in her sleep, latching onto the stuffed wolf that lay beside her, while the dark haired boy laying in the car seat behind him frowned, grasping instead to his blanket and sighing. His heart clenches as he brushes both his children’s cheeks with his fingertips, watching them sleep peacefully in their car seats, oblivious to the rest of the world and the things going on around them._

_“My sweet little angels…” he whispered, a few more, small tears slipping down his cheeks as he looks between the two, eyes sparkling with more unshed tears, “I hope you both know daddy loves you both….so so much…and…he….he’s only…doing this….because it’s what’s best for you…”_

_A train whistle pierces the night as a bright light appears at one end of the tracks; the railroad crossing signs light up and begin to sound, throwing red light over the surrounding area. The man can feel the vibrations of the train as it draws nearer, it’s light bathing him and his children in pure white light. He touches both kids, fighting the sob climbing his throat as he opens his mouth to speak once more; the train sounds it’s whistle again, drowning out his words as everything fades to white –_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A gasp tore from the young woman’s mouth as she was jerked out of her dream, her body jolting upright as wide, bright blue eyes glanced around her empty bedroom; her breathes left her in short, haggard spurts as her heart beat a tempo against her ribs. Reality slowly began to set in after a moment as she realized where she was, pulling a relieved sigh from her as she collapsed back into the mountain of pillows resting against the headboard, her hands lifting to her face to rub quickly at the crust around the corners of her eyes.

Jesus, how long had it been since she had had that dream...? It’d been months, possibly even years since the last time it had visited Akira Singer…the last time she’d had that dream had been when she’d still been living at home with her father and twin brother…her father had said the dream was possibly nothing more than that, a dream…but still…there was something vaguely familiar about the man and those two children, something the young woman just could not put her finger on…

Sighing out slowly as she pulled her hands from her eyes, Akira blinked in the bright morning sunlight to stare up at the popcorn ceiling overhead, a frown marring her features as she allowed herself the chance to wake up and let what had just happened sink in. Was there meaning behind the dream…? There had to be…if Akira had been experiencing it since…hell, probably since even before she could remember, especially if it was coming back after several years of absence to haunt her during her adulthood….maybe she should go see a psychic or a therapist, or something….she could ask her father again, see if he was more willing to tell her what he couldn’t when she was a kid, but Akira was afraid he would just tell her it was a dream and not to worry about it, just like he’d always done….just the thought made her sigh out in frustration and she quickly shook her head, almost immediately ruling out that option since she knew it wouldn’t get her anywhere. Hm…maybe she should ask her best friend –

“Good morning!” The sudden voice made Akira nearly jump clear out of her skin as she jolted upright once more, glaring playfully at the tall, handsome brunette standing in her bedroom doorway. He grins crookedly at her, cocking his head playfully to the side as he raised his eyebrows, “Overslept, did you? It’s already ten.” He pointed toward the alarm clock on her bedside table, chuckling as he watched her whip around to stare at the red neon numbers with wide eyes, although she immediately relaxed when she saw it was still only eight. She turned slowly to glare at him once more, narrowing her eyes as she threw one of her pillows at his head, which he promptly caught, quirking a brow.

“Jerk.” She hissed, shaking her head with a small laugh as she got up and went into her walk in closet to find something to wear for the day. Her companion chuckled once more in amusement, tossing the pillow back among the pile by the headboard while he took a seat at the foot of the bed itself.

“Hey, that’s what you get for sleeping in, lazy pants.” He hummed, brushing a few bangs out of his eyes and cocking his head slightly while he waited for her to reemerge, “It’s rare to see you sleep in so late, anyway, usually you’re up at the crack of dawn with something to do before we leave for breakfast.”

“Everyone needs a day to sleep in a bit, Sam.” Akira said seriously as she came out of the closet, pulling her favorite jean jacket on over her gray tee, “I usually don’t have the time, but I can’t run twenty-four seven…”

“I know.” Sam said consolingly, putting a comforting hand on her back as she sat beside him to pull her sneakers on next, “It’s a good thing today’s your day off then, huh?” he chuckled softly, although his smile slipped a bit as he took in her cuntenance, her lips pursed tight into a thin line as her brows were furrowed deeply over her clear, ocean blue eyes. The straight, rigid edge to her back and shoulders caught his attention, making Sam frown deeply as he rubbed her back soothingly, cocking his head, “Hey Akira, is something wrong? You seem a bit, distracted…”

Akira sighed as she sat up once more, her lips pursing tighter until they were white, making Sam furrow his brows, knowing that was a sure sign she was upset and had something big on her mind. Sam and Akira had known each other since they were about two years old and had practically grown up together, which meant they knew just about every little thing about one another, which included all the subtle little cues or quirks the other had, whether they were happy, upset, mad, etc. Akira pursing her lips like this, as though trying to keep in a big secret, was the biggest indicator that she had something on her mind, something she wanted, desperately, to talk to someone, anyone who would understand about. This had to be something really bizarre or strange if she was having a hard time telling Sam, who she told practically everything…practically.

“Akira…” Sam put a hand on her shoulder, turning her to look at him, “You know you can tell me anything. Please…tell me what’s wrong…”

Akira looked deep into her best friend’s eyes, frowning quietly and then sighing softly as she put a hand over the one on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly, “It was…that dream again.”

Sam’s eyebrows rose and he blinked, “That dream…? The one you’ve had since we were kids?” Akira nodded, “So you were just…? Was this the first time -?”

“I’ve had it since we left home? Yeah…” Akira confirmed, blowing a couple of stands of blond hair from her face, “I just don’t understand it, though, Sam…I thought we’d left all the weird stuff behind us when we left the family and came here for college…or, at the very least, I’d hoped….I didn’t get the dream all the time, but it always came around this time of year for one reason or another, but I don’t know why…when we left home, I didn’t get it and I thought, maybe, you know, since we weren’t involved in the ‘family business’ anymore, that meant it wouldn’t be an issue, but now…I’m just so confused on what it means…having a dream once isn’t anything, but having it over and over again for twenty years? It has to have some kind of significance…right?” she speared her hands through her hair and groaned, avoiding Sam’s eye now, “I don’t even know, Sam…am I just going nuts here?”

Warm hands caught her wrists and Akira turned to look at the brunette once more as he met her gaze gently, his brows still furrowed, “I don’t think that’s what it is, Akira, not at all….the dream could mean something of importance to you, you just need to pay attention to us. I’m sure if you and I put our heads together, we could figure it out, okay? I promise, I will help you figure all this out, one way or another.”

Akira frowned quietly as she met Sam’s unwavering dark brown eyes, letting herself get lost in their depths as she searched for any hesitation, any uncertainty about this entire thing. Determination and dedication stared strongly back at her, swirling together and combining with the love and compassion she had always seen in her best friend’s eyes. The tension slowly left her shoulders, an unknowing smile creeping across her lips as the familiar, strong emotions calmed her, letting her know she wasn’t alone in this, that she had someone there to help her understand. Sighing out once more, Akira nodded her head, kissing Sam’s cheek gratefully as she smiled at him.

“Thank you, Sammy….you have no idea just how….stressed I would be here without you.”

A teasing smile flitted across his face as Sam cocked his head, raising his brows, “I have some idea.” She joined him in his laughter, playfully shoving him as he kissed the knuckles on both hands. Giggling to herself in amusement, Akira glanced at the clock once more, patting Sam’s arm.

“Well, enough gloomy talk, today’s supposed to be a happy day!” she said as she hopped up and scurried into the adjoining bathroom to finish getting ready. “After all, it isn’t every day I’m asked to accompany my best friend to the jewelry store to pick out an engagement ring!”

Chuckling and shaking his head in bemusement, Sam watched Akira brush her hair and teeth through the open door, leaning his forearms on his knees, “It’s really not that big a deal…”

“Not that big a deal?!” Akira poked her head around the doorframe, toothpaste foaming around the corners of her mouth, her eyes wide, “Sam, how could you say that? You’re going to ask Jessica to marry you, marry you, that’s huge!” She ducked back into the bathroom to spit out her mouthful of toothpaste and take a pull from the bottle of Listerine on the countertop. She gargled and spat the mouthwash out before wiping her mouth and applying her make-up, “This is a huge step, Sam…you’re really achieving the goals you set out for when we left home: you got into Stanford University, the college of your dreams, got an amazingly high score on your LSAT test to assure your full ride into the law school here, you found an amazing woman, who you’ve been dating for the past two years and are planning to marry. You’re getting the normal life you’ve always wanted. Pretty soon you’re going to be set up in that pretty little house with the white picket fence and a couple of little Sammy’s or Jessica’s running around, causing trouble.”

Sam felt the heat rush to his face at the thought, even as a smile quirked at the corners of his lips, imagining such a thing, pulling a chuckle from his throat. Akira emerged from the bathroom then, pulling her waist length, wavy blond hair up into a high ponytail to keep out of her face. She smiled at her friend as she grabbed her bag and pulled it on over her head, double-checking to be sure she had her wallet and everything she needed before she grabbed her keys and Sam’s arm.

“To the hunt!” she declared happily, pulling the young man out of the apartment. He chuckled the entire time, shaking his head as she paused long enough to lock her door before dragging him down the stairs and out into the busy streets. The two turned right and followed a narrow opening between the buildings to their parking lot, where they climbed into an old van which had been painted to look like a clear nighttime sky. They got in the front, Akira pulling on a pair of royal red sunglasses as a loud rumble sounded throughout the car; her face immediately warmed as Sam busted up laughing, ducking as she playfully smacked him, “Okay…food first, then to the hunt!” Sam shook his head, grinning at her.

“Wasn’t that the plan all along?” he teased as the engine roared to life and Akira drove out of the lot, shushing him as she did so, “I am in the zone, the huntress cannot be distracted!”

Shaking his head once more and chuckling under his breath, Sam turned his attention forward once more, watching the cars pass by while he thought about everything that had and was happening at this very moment. He wondered briefly what his father and brother would have said if they’d known how his life was going now, as he prepared himself to propose to his longtime girlfriend and go into his dream school. His father hadn’t been happy with him when he’d first said he’d wanted out of the family business so he could go to college and had told him not to come back, so Sam had the distinct feeling…maybe his father wouldn’t approve of this….Dean might be happy for him, hell, his older brother had always been looking out for him and wanted the best for him, but…Sam hadn’t talked to either man since he was eighteen…they were still his family, so of course he would invite them to his wedding, but…he just wasn’t sure how things would go when he saw either of them again, or how they would be when they met Jessica….he just hoped things could be civil between him and his dad…he wanted more than anything just to be able to enjoy spending time with him on his wedding day without having to worry about getting into some big, stupid fight.

“Sam?”

Someone shook his shoulder, jolting the young man out of his thoughts as he turned to look at his friend seated beside him, frowning worriedly up at him with raised brows as she lifted her sunglasses from her eyes. He blinked quickly, glancing around to find they’d arrived at their favorite diner and were parked by the entrance before he turned his attention back to Akira, smiling lightly.

“Sorry, I got a bit…sidetracked…”

“Yeah, I could see that, you looked like if your head wasn’t attached to your neck it would’ve floated clear off into space.” Akira said teasingly as she shut off the car’s engine and grabbed her bag, “What’s got that big noggin of yours’ so cluttered up all of the sudden? Already trying to make wedding arrangements before you’ve popped the question to Jessica?”

The duo climbed out of the van together and Akira locked it up behind them as they headed inside, greeting the head waitress behind the counter as they claimed their usual booth at one end of the diner. She came over with a couple of mugs and poured both of them coffee, promising their orders would be right out; Sam and Akira had found the diner not too long after they’d moved to Stanford, California during a short tour they’d taken of the city to figure out the layout. The diner had looked cozy, quiet, which they’d both enjoyed, so they’d decided to come in for breakfast and had frequented it since. At the moment it was decked out in the colors of autumn and some cheesy Halloween decorations, which included stickers on the windows, some fake cobwebs up in the corners and a plastic jack-o-lantern that lit up next to the register.

Thanking the waitress as she left her and Sam to their coffee, Akira pulled the container of sweetener packets closer and began fixing her coffee how she liked it, glancing up at her best friend when he failed to do the same. Raising her brows worriedly as she watched Sam stare into the black coffee in his mug, Akira cocked her head worriedly, reaching across the table to touch his arm, making him look up.

“Hey, what’s up? Is something bothering you, Sam?”

He gave a small smile and sighed, running his fingers through his bangs to push them out of his eyes, “I’m just….I’m worried about how my dad and Dean are going to take the news…we haven’t exactly spoken since I left, especially since my dad wasn’t entirely thrilled that I wanted to leave for school.”

Akira frowned in understanding, remembering how angry Sam’s father, John Winchester, had been when he’d been informed his youngest son wanted to leave home for college. Although father and son had always butted heads from the time Sam had become a teenager, Akira knew that John cared a great deal for both his children and had been worried about letting either of them out of his sight, so the thought of one of his kids leaving home to live in one single place was probably terrifying for him, especially since he wouldn’t be around to look out for him like he’d been doing all Sam’s life. But, even if the two had had a fight the last time they’d seen each other, Akira knew for certain that her uncle would be happy for Sam’s marriage and would want nothing but the best for him and Jessica. Smiling reassuringly, Akira put her hands over Sam’s, looking deep into his eyes.

“Sam, I know you and your father haven’t exactly seen eye to eye…but I do know he cares about you, a lot, and he only wants the very best for you…even if you don’t invite him to the wedding, he’s going to be happy for you and Jess. And I know Dean will be, too.” Akira rubbed Sam’s hands gently, smiling softly at him while he frowned, furrowing his brows deeply, looking deep into her eyes, “Things’ll be okay, Sam. And, even if they aren’t, you know I’ll always be there to help. If your dad does anything, I’ll act as a buffer for you, okay?”

Sam gave a small, grateful smile as he took her hands, squeezing gratefully, “Will you always be this protective of me?”

Akira smiled, laughing softly, “Probably, but, you know, it’s a part of my contract as your best friend, I’m supposed to be your buffer for anyone, other friends or family that stress you out, and I’m supposed to be protective of you, too, it means I’m doing my job of looking out for you.”

Sam couldn’t help laughing himself as the waitress brought their breakfast, squeezing Akira’s hands gratefully once more.

“I’d reel in the lovey-dovey stuff, you two, you might make others jealous.” She told them as they moved their arms out of the way so she could set their plates down. Akira and Sam exchanged an amusement smile, shaking their heads together and laughing.

“Sorry, Maria, we can’t help it. Whether in public or alone, when I look into Sam’s eyes, the rest of the world just fades away.” Akira joked, making the older woman laugh in amusement herself, “Just so long as the two of you don’t get carried away now.” She teased, making both of them laugh once more; they’d both known Maria since they’d first found the diner and had become good friends with her, especially since she had become somewhat of a mother figure to both of them, someone they could come talk to when they needed advice, whether it was about love or just life in general. She already knew the two were just friends and had met Jessica, who would occasionally join Sam and Akira at the diner for a meal whenever they all had a day off together.

“So, what’s on the agenda for the two of you today? Off to get your costumes for tonight?”

Akira gave a small smile, shaking her head in amusement, “No, no shopping for Halloween costumes, neither Sam nor I have been big fans of this holiday…but we do have big, important plans scheduled for today.”

Maria quirked a brow, smiling, “Oh?” she giggled, intrigued. Akira nodded at Sam, who ducked his head shyly, giving a small smile, “Sammy’s planning to propose to Jessica. We’re going to go pick out the ring today.”

The older woman’s face lit up immediately at this news, her smile stretching so wide the duo was almost afraid it was going to split her cheeks open, “Oh, that’s wonderful news, Sam, congratulations!” she said earnestly, squeezing Sam’s shoulder happily while he gave her a grateful smile, “Oh, sweetie, I’m so happy for you, you really landed yourself a winner with Jessica. I wish the two of you all the possible happiness in the world.”

“Don’t think you’ll be left out of the celebration, Maria.” Sam told her, chuckling, “We couldn’t really have a wedding without you.”

Maria’s expression softened and she gave Sam a one-armed hug, rubbing his back, “Oh lovey, you’re so sweet. If only I was thirty years younger, maybe I’d be the one you’d be proposing to.”

Sam laughed softly and nodded, hugging Maria in return as Akira giggled, taking a bite of egg, “Daw, you two would make an adorable couple.”

With another giggle, Maria pulled away, gently brushing the hair from Sam’s face, “You two are sweet as pie, honestly.” She smiled, telling them to enjoy their breakfast as she turned away to tend to the other costumers. “Ah, how the two of you aren’t the ones getting engaged still baffles me, though. Jessica is such a wonderful girl, but she isn’t nearly as good for Sammy as Akira is.”

Quirking a brow after the waitress and shaking her head, Akira gave a small laugh, chasing her eggs down with a sip of coffee, “Even after all these years, Maria still thinks we’re the ones that belong together. Funny, isn’t it, Sam?”

Sam blinked and looked up from his own plate, cocking his head slightly in question, “What do you mean?” he asked, confused, thinking back to what Maria had said before, knowing she’d only been joking with them. Blinking at her best friend, the blond set her mug down, “Didn’t you just hear what she said as she was leaving?” He furrowed his brows, shaking his head, “No…did she say something about us?” Akira blinked once more, furrowing her own brows, “Yeah…Maria just said…she still can’t seem to get how we’re not the ones getting engaged…how could you have not heard her, she said it clear as a bell.”

Giving his friend a concerned look, Sam slowly shook his head, “I don’t remember her saying that, Akira…the last thing Maria said before she left was that you and I were sweet for making sure to include her in my wedding….she didn’t say anything about thinking the two of us should be getting engaged.” His frown deepened for a moment while Akira mirrored him, furrowing her brows deeply in confusion. “Is Akira sick or something, hearing things out of nowhere…? Maybe I should check her temperature…”

“I’m completely fine, Sam.” She said sternly, holding a hand out as though to stop him from trying to touch her forehead, even though he hadn’t raised a hand to do so yet, “I’m not getting sick….believe me…maybe I did just imagine it.” She sighed slowly, brushing the bangs back out of her eyes. “Let’s just forget about it and finish our breakfast….who knows how long it’s going to take for us to find that perfect ring for Jessica, huh?” she gave a weak smile in an attempt to return the mood to it’s easy, comfortable vibe from before as she returned to eating her breakfast; Sam watched her in concern, pinching his eyebrows over the bridge of his nose as he reached across the table to touch her forearm, looking deep into her eyes.

“Akira…are you sure you’re all right…?” he asked, lowering his voice, even though the diner had very few other costumers at the moment. “Are you experiencing…something supernatural?”

Looking back into Sam’s eyes, Akira pinched her own eyebrows, feeling a throb work it’s way through her temples at the rush of words that seemed to bombard her at that moment, all coming from the young man before her, although looking directly at his face while this occurred brought with it a heart-sinking realization. His mouth wasn’t moving….but Akira could swear that she heard Sam speaking, clear as a bell…it was like…like she was…hearing his thoughts!

What sounded like a quiet buzz began to reverberate through the air almost as soon as this thought occurs to the young woman and Akira can feel the hair on the back of her neck prickling with unease as she unwillingly tuned into it. Dozens voices mixed together, like dozen of people were taking at the same time, none loud enough to overtake others nor soft enough not to be noticed, each different, distinguishable from the others, just a constant buzz in her ear. Akira clenched her jaw and closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to block the voices out as she wondered why this was happening; why was she suddenly hearing other people’s thoughts like this, she hadn’t ever showed signs of telepathy or any otherworldly abilities like these before today, so why all of the sudden -?

“Akira?” Sam’s voice jolted her back out of her thoughts as she was shaken, her eyes snapping open once more; she met her best friend’s worried gaze, blinking quickly in surprise while she willed her breathing to return to normal. Sam frowned at her, his brows furrowing over his dark brown eyes. “Akira, are you okay? Are you feeling sick or anything? Do you need to see a doctor?”

Taking a deep breath, Akira slowly shook her head, frowning, “No…no I’m fine, I just…I have a bit of a headache, that’s all…you know, I think I’m just a little tired…I stayed up later than usual last night and my body’s punishing me for it….I’m sure once we’ve finished breakfast I’ll be fine.”

Giving Sam a reassuring smile, Akira put a hand over his and squeezed tightly, letting him know she would be okay while he frowned at her, his brows still furrowed deeply in worry as he watched her return to her breakfast; no matter how much Akira tried to reassure him that everything was fine and tried to brush this incident under the rug, Sam knew something had to be going on with her, especially since he had known her practically all their lives and because both of them had grown up raised by hunters, who had taught them on more than one occasion to be cautious about anything that seemed out of the ordinary, no matter how big or small it might be.

Akira glanced up as she noticed Sam wasn’t eating his breakfast and she frowned at him worriedly, cocking her head to the side and blinking slowly, curiously. Usually anything out of the ordinary was something neither she nor Sam would be interested in and would much prefer to ignore, especially since both of them had always wanted normal lives. Which was probably why something like what she could be experiencing was so frustrating and unwelcome…she couldn’t exactly be considered normal if she was suddenly hearing the voices of other people, their private thoughts and wonderings. But she had thought Sam would be even less interested in something like this, especially since he had so many more, important matters on his hands, such as his own engagement. Sam was her best friend, but she wanted him happy above all else, especially after all he’d been through in his life with his father and brother and she didn’t want him worrying about her when he should be more concerned with his own happiness. Smiling reassuringly, Akira put a hand on Sam’s arm and squeezed it tightly, looking into Sam’s eyes once more.

“Sam, I’m fine, really….please, don’t worry so much about me…” she told him softly, looking deep into his eyes, “I promise you, I’m fine, like I said, I’m just tired. But we shouldn’t let that ruin our day, Sammy, you have a ring to pick out for Jessica. That’s much more important right now than my being tired. Today is about you. We’re going to finish our breakfast and go to the jewelry store like we said we would. I promise that I’ll take care of myself tonight, I’ll get a good night’s sleep and make sure I get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow, all right? I’ll be okay.”

Still not entirely convinced, yet knowing that there wasn’t any good in arguing this point further, what with how stubborn he knew his best friend could be, Sam pursed his lips tightly as he reluctantly conceded, nodding slowly with a sigh, “All right…”

Smiling and squeezing Sam’s arm once more, Akira nodded her head as she pulled back to return to her breakfast; Sam turned his attention to his own plate, picking quietly at the lukewarm pieces of french toast set before him, only taking a bite here and there as he mulled everything over. Why, all of the sudden, was Akira acting so strangely….thinking she heard things out of thin air? What she thought Maria had said….it had sounded so much like the older woman…she’d been so adamant that Sam and Akira belonged together, it had actually taken her a while just to accept Jessica or Akira’s, currently, ex-boyfriend, Jason. Was something supernatural going on with her, something that she was reluctant to tell him about because she knew just how much he disliked the abnormal, how much he wished for things to just be normal for both of them, just as she did...could all this just be a result of Akira being off her normal sleep schedule…? Even if he greatly doubted it, considering something like this hadn’t happened in the past, Sam knew Akira had been a little off kilter since Jason had broken up with her the previous week…even when she tried to act fine, Sam could tell it was bothering her, especially since she so engrossed herself in her studies and work more than she usually would since...there had even been a few times over the last couple of days when Sam had caught her coming home later than she usually did…probably another reason why he had invited her out today to help him pick out the perfect engagement ring…after seeing his best friend look so broken and worn out like that, Sam had wanted to try and get her away from the apartment, away from her studies, and away from work, even if just for a few hours. Hell, he would even force her to get some sleep himself when he got her back to the apartment if he had to....just so long as she took care of herself and he got his Akira back….

“Sam?”

Jolting out of his thoughts, Sam met Akira’s soft gaze, blinking slowly as he stared back at her quizzically; she offered a small smile, giggling lightly as she cocked her head to the side.

“Are you finished?” she asked gently, pointing to the half finished food still left on his plate. He glanced down and then up at her empty plate, somewhat relieved to see she’d eaten practically everything aside from a few crumbs left from her scrambled eggs and bacon, then he cleared his throat, meeting her gaze once more with a small smile, “Yeah, yeah I’m done…”

Smiling and nodding with a faint giggle, Akira nodded, “Again on those wedding plans, Sam…? You might want to slow down, or you might chase Jessica off with your eagerness.” She pointed out teasingly, reaching into her purse to pull out her wallet to pay for breakfast, shaking her head when he started to reach for his wallet as well, “Nuh-uh, I’m paying for today, save your money for that rock you’re getting Jessica. And don’t,” she held up a finger as Sam looked about ready to argue with her, “Even think about arguing with me about this, Samuel. I’m paying for the meal and that’s that.”

Sighing and shaking his head with a small, amused smile, Sam returned his wallet somewhat reluctantly to his pocket and stepped out of the booth after Akira. The two waved goodye to Maria on their way out, promising her wedding invitation would be in the mail soon as they walked out through the front door and headed for Akira’s van. The waitress waved after the two from the window as her voice once more echos through Akira’s mind, although she ignores it as she focuses intently on the road before her, motioning to Sam to take the map out of the glove compartment.

It took the duo about half an hour of playful arguing before they were able to locate the closest jewelry store to them, which actually turned out to be just a couple of blocks from their apartment building. It wasn’t a big store, probably just about half the size of either of their apartments with a u shaped glass counter taking up a majority of the floor space, displaying all kinds of jewelry from pearl necklaces to diamond tiaras. Only one other costumer was inside, another young woman talking with the one attendant at one end of the counter about a special family ring for her husband. The attendant glanced up at Sam and Akira’s entrance, nodding minutely to tell them he would be with them in a moment as he returned his attention to the woman before him while the duo themselves glanced at the jewelry on display.

“Hey Sam,” Akira motioned for Sam to join her as she pointed to a small display holding several simple silver rings with differently cut diamonds. “What about one of these guys here, they look pretty. That ring there with the heart diamond is beautiful.”

Sam chuckled softly in amusement, glancing teasingly at her, “I thought we wee here to shop for my engagement ring, not so you can add another ring to your jewelry box.” He joked, laughing softly as she gently shoved him, “Shut up, I’m doing my best here. You know Jessica wouldn’t want some big, fancy shmancy ring that cost an arm and a leg.”

“I know….but I want to be sure the ring is perfect for a perfect woman like her.” Sam told her as he wandered further down the counter while Akira shook her head, amused, “You’re a real-life Romeo, you know that, Sammy? I should really put this in my speech for your wedding.”

“Oh, so now you’re going to be making a speech for us?” Sam asked, glancing back at her with a quirked brow while she smirked back at him, cocking her head teasingly to the side, “And why wouldn’t I? I’ve been your best friend since you could walk, Sam, so who better to give you and your future bride a great speech than me?”

“Can I help the two of you?”

The new voice behind her made Akira jump a bit in surprise as she whirled around to face theshort, balding store clerk that had joined them, giving the duo a big, fake smile. She took a step back toward Sam as he stepped toward her, frowning at the clearly annoyed look on the older man’s hard face, as though they’d interrupted something he’d really been engrossed in. Clearing his throat as he put a reassuring hand on Akira’s shoulder, Sam offered a small smile.

“Erm…well, we were just looking at some rings on display, that’s all…I was looking for an engagement ring for my fiance.”

“Ah, the two of you are looking for engagement rings together? A bit unusual, don’t you think?” the man asked with raised brows, cocking his head to the side as he moved in front of them. Akira blinked and laughed, opening her mouth to speak when Sam squeezed her shoulder tightly, chuckling himself, “Well, Akira and I usually like doing things our own way, you know…always working together, especially in matters like this. Besides, it helps me find just the right ring for her since I know it’s the one she likes.”

Quirking a brow once more as Akira glanced up at Sam, the clerk, whose name turned out to be Thomas, displayed by the little nametag attached to his white dress shirt, gave a small nod, indicating the two to follow him, “Well then…I’ll show the two of you where we keep our best rings….”

Thomas led Sam and Akira over to a far corner of the counter that mainly displayed engagement and wedding rings of varying sizes and looks, pointing to the engagement rings for them to look over. The duo bent for a closer look while the clerk watched them, his eyes running over Akira’s form, taking in her curves through her loose grey tee and navy blue jeans, which clung perfectly to her hips, bringing emphasis to her ample bottom. The young woman shifted uncomfortably, her skin prickling uneasily as she could practically feel the lust roll off the man in waves, her ears burning with the murmur of foul, unholy thoughts that buzzed through Thomas’s mind, thoughts of what he would do to her if she was single and he got her alone, thoughts that made her stomach turn, throat ablaze with bile. Doing her best to ignore it, Akira instead tried to focus on the rings before her, trying to help Sam decide which one would be better for Jessica, grasping unconsciously at the bottom of his shirt while she shifted closer to him, feeling safer even as the clerk continued to practically oogle her from behind the counter. Sam glanced up as he felt Akira’s discomfort, frowning as he noticed the way the other man seemed to be undressing his best friend with his eyes as he subconsciously put a hand around her, pulling her closer as he cleared his throat. Tomas’s eyes snapped to his, annoyance flashing across his features once more as his lips tightened into a thin line while Sam tapped the countertop.

“I’d like to see those rings there.” He said, meeting his gaze unflinchingly, his eyebrows raising challengingly while the clerk gave a small, unwilling nod and bent to retrieve the small display, which he set on the counter, never breaking Sam’s gaze until he looked away himself. He pulled Akira closer, squeezing her side gently as he offered her a gentle smile, “See one you like, Aki?” he asked softly, making her blink as she glanced up at him for a moment before giving a small, grateful smile while she looked at the rings before her, gently picking up one she thought Jessica might like; it was a simple ring with a white gold band and a half carat cushion diamond surrounded by several red/blue gems. Sam encouraged her to try it on, knowing she and his girlfriend had the same ring size, and helped her slip it on her ring finger with a smile.

“Looks good. What do you think, love?” Akira smiled brightly, nodding, “I love it.” She giggled, kissing Sam’s cheek while he chuckled and nodded, “All right then, we’ll take this one.”

Thomas nodded his head and brought the two over to the register to ring them up, scowling quietly to himself the entire time as Sam paid the full amount and begrudgingly wishing them a happy life as they left the store. It wouldn’t be until they’d gotten back in the van and driven the several blocks back to their apartment building, though, that either of them would be able to relax without the feeling of the clerk watching their every move. Akira even heaved a big, tired sigh as she parked the car and leaned back into her seat, brushing the hair back out of her face and smiling gratefully at Sam.

“Thanks for that, Sam….” She said gratefully as he chuckled faintly, shaking his head. “Don’t worry about it too much…that guy was a creeper and I don’t even want to imagine what he would’ve been like if he’d known we weren’t together. Besides, it’s what friends are for, right?”

Suppressing a shudder and shaking her head with a sigh, Akira reached over to touch Sam’s shoulder, squeezing gently, “Yeah, it is, but I’m still grateful, especially since that wasn’t the first sticky situation you had to get me out of.”

“You’ve returned the favor on more than one occasion.” Sam pointed out in amusement as the two of them got out of the van and headed upstairs to Akira’s apartment. She let them inside and disappeared briefly into her bedroom to retrieve an empty ring box she had to put the ring in before she gave it to Sam, who thanked her graciously while he took a seat on the couch. She smiled and nodded as she grabbed a couple of drinks from the fridge and joined him in the living room, switching on the television, frowning at the Halloween special playing on _Lifetime_.

“Hmm, isn’t there anything better on…?’ Akira sighed, getting herself comfortable on the couch as she flipped through the stations in hopes of finding something other than a Halloween or horror movie playing. Sam chuckled, propping his feet on Akira’s coffee table as she rested her feet in his lap while he watched her try to find something suitable to watch until she settled on a good action-adventure on one of the other movie stations. The two sighed together as they settled back into the couch, Sam absent-mindedly pulling her feet closer to gently press the pad of his thumbs into their soles, messaging gently, just the way he knew she liked it, hoping it would help her to relax enough to allow her the chance to catch a good nap. Akira let out a long, relaxed sigh, laying her head back against the arm of the couch, feeling her body melt back into the soft couch cushions as Sam continued his ministrations on her feet, prompting her muscles to loosen as a heavy, drowsy feeling slowly seeped into her. Her eyes grew heavy and slowly drooped, her breath slowing as she tittered on the very edge of consciousness.

Glancing sideways at the young woman, a quiet chuckle left her companion’s lips as his smile softened at the sight of Akira’s peaceful face while she slipped off into a fitful sleep. Sam shook his head in amusement as continued to press his thumb gently into the pressure points on his friend’s feet, quietly encouraging her sleep while he admired the serene expression on her features; her head was turned slightly toward the TV, head nestled back into the couch’s arm, her wavy, light blond hair fanning out around her soft, heart-shaped face and neck, even as a few strands fell across her face from her bangs. Her full eyelashes fluttered against her cheek with the movement of her eyes while she slept, her full lips opening and closing briefly with her next breath while her chest rose and fell slowly. Sam couldn’t deny that his best friend was a beautiful young woman, a triple threat with a combination of her good looking face, curvaceous, muscled body, which had been hard not to notice growing up, especially during puberty when he had begun noticing girls for the first tim, not to mention her brilliant mind and determined, but kind personality. The only time they'd had a date, though, had been when he's accompanied her to her senior prom, but things had not gone further than that between them.

Sighing slowly at the memories, Sam turned his attention back to the TV, brushing his thumbs gently over Akira’s feet while she slept and he watched the movie. The simple wall clock behind the TV ticked softly in the background, reading out 11:43 am. Well, Jessica wouldn’t be home today until around six, when they would be going out to celebrate his high LSAT score, so hopefully Akira would be able to catch a good nap for herself before he woke her up to eat a little later on. Hopefully his girlfriend wouldn’t give either of them too much static about not dressing up for Halloween when they went to the bar later, knowing she liked to celebrate the holiday where he and Akira did not; neither of them really blamed her, knowing she enjoyed celebrating like any normal person, but after growing up seeing what they’d seen, neither of them was really too keen to celebrate anything that had any supernatural connection.

Deciding to just worry about that later, Sam carefully reached over to take the remote from Akira and check out what else could be on as the movie he was watching ended, frowning quietly at the overwhelming amount of Halloween specials there seemed to be on practically every channel. Sighing and shaking his head slowly, it took Sam a few minutes to find something suitable to watch, settling back as he found a documentary on World War I and returning to rubbing Akira’s feet while she slept. The time ticked slowly by and he felt a sense of drowsiness overcome him after a while, his eyelids beginning to droop as he reclined back into the couch; his fingers slowed and finally stopped, resting against Akira’s calves as he leaned his head into the back of the couch, his eyes slowly drifting closed. He was just tittering on the edge of unconsciousness when something jolted him back to the waking world, his eyes fluttering as he wondered what had woken him up until he heard a soft whimper, something shifting in his lap. He jumped a little in surprise, his eyes snapping open as he turned quickly to check on Akira to see if it had been her that had made the noise, his heart clenching worriedly as soon as he looked at her.

Her head had turned into the couch, her legs curling up toward her chest as her face was scrunched up, almost like she’d just been sucking a lemon, her lips pursed tight into a thin, white line while her eyebrows creased her forehead and the space over the bridge of her nose. Her eyes moved rapidly under her eyelids, her eyelashes fluttering and her lips moved, as though she was trying to speak, but couldn’t seem to find the words, body jerking as her head whipped around back toward the TV. Another whimper escaped her lips as her legs curled in tighter to her chest; Sam’s body reacted of it’s own accord, gently grabbing Akira's ankles to keep her from curling completely into a ball and laying her legs back across his lap, holding them in place with one hand while the other gently grabbed onto her arm. She jerked at his touch, kicking her legs as her body tossed around on the cushions as though she’d just received an electric shock. His grip immediately tightened on her legs and he gripped her arm again, calling her name loudly. She jolted upright, eyes widening as a gasp tore from her lips while she stared about the room; Sam quickly caught her arm, steadying her as he reassured her she was okay, they were safe, squeezing her shoulder tightly until she met his gaze.

“Akira, what happened…?” he whispered gently, meeting her eyes gently, searching their wide, terrified depths, an expression he’d come all too familiar with over the years they had known one another. She was shaking as she met his gaze, gulping thickly as she tried to catch her breath while he quietly asked her if it had been that dream again; she nodded wordlessly, clutching at his arms as though to find something to anchor her in place while her eyes glistened, causing Sam’s heart to clench once more. He immediately pulled her in close, hugging her to his chest while she tucked her head under his chin, her face buried in his neck while she clutched to the front of his shirt, sniffing while he rubbed soothing circles into her back. This was getting out of control…this dream, whatever it meant, was doing things to Akira that neither of them could possibly begin to understand and was making her absolutely miserable…Sam was almost afraid that if they didn’t do something about it soon, she would do something drastic, insane even. They needed to talk to someone who could help her, they needed to get answers, quick, before this dream drove Akira over the edge into insanity.

Gently pointing this out to the young woman, Sam slowly pulled back to look at her, reaching back for the box of tissues sitting on the side table to gently clean away the smeared mascara on her face. She could only give a small nod, closing each eye as he gently brushed the tissue past, eyes cast downward, hiding her gaze from his view, making him frown.

“It’s going to be okay, Akira.” He whispered softly, putting the tissue aside and brushing her cheek gently as he cocked his head to the side. “We’re going to figure everything out and get this taken care of, you’re going to be okay.”

“What if I’m not, though, Sam…?” she whispered, looking up to meet his eye, “What if this is some kind of sign or something? There has to be a reason why I’ve been having this dream for as long as I can remember…what if I did know these people, from a long time go, I just can’t recall because I was really young from it. I can’t just brush this under the rug anymore…not this time…I could feel everything in the dream, Sam, I can suddenly understand why it’s happening.I can feel how the man feels, I can feel his heart break, his remorse for having to do…that to his children. He has to protect them….because something is trying to take them from him…kill them...something supernatural.”

Sam’s eyebrows rose immediately and he squeezed her shoulders tightly, looking deep into her bright, ocean blue eyes, almost surprised at the painful remorse that stared back at him. It was the look of someone desperate, with no other options except for the very one they did not wish to have to use. They most definitely needed to figure out what the hell was going on before this got worse…

“We’ll figure it out, Aki…we’ll figure something out.” Sam whispered gently, pulling Akira back into his arms and hugging her tight, letting her know he was there, that it was going to be okay. Akira clutched to him, burying her face into his shoulder, her hands fisting in the back of his shirt, still visibly shaken by the dream. Neither of them was willing to release the other for a long while and they both decided a drink was desperately needed after all this. The TV was shut off and they went to sit in the kitchen with a bottle of wine and a couple of beers while they tried to figure out what to do to decipher Akira’s dream. Akira wasn’t keen to go to a shrink or a fortune teller, who would make her bleed through the nose just to get an answer, and she looked even more unsure about going to a psychic, muttering something about not wanting someone wanting poking around inside her mind. Sam finally suggested they get in contact with Akira’s father, who would likely be able to at least be able to tell her if she’d known the man and the two kids at one point in her life and Akira agreed, hoping it would at least shed some light on the purpose behind the dream itself.

Unfortunately for the duo, however, luck was not on their sides; they each tried three times to get in contact with the man, but he didn’t pick up for either of them. Akira left Bobby a message and hung up on her third call, frowning worriedly, knowing her father never ignored her calls unless he was out on a job. Hopefully he would be able to call her back soon…she didn’t think she’d be able to take not knowing what the hell was going on for much longer…and she really didn’t want to have to become dependent on drugs or alcohol just to try and escape it.

“Any idea on what we should do now…?” she muttered as she threw back the rest of her wine; Sam watched as she reached across the table and poured herself more, pursing his lips thoughtfully, “I think the most we’ll be able to do at the moment is….probably just wait for Bobby to get back to us. We can try later tonight and tomorrow, too. Maybe right now we should just…take a step back and regroup. We can worry about it later…” he gave Akira a reassuring smile as she frowned at him, looking less than reassured, “Look…I know it isn’t the most ideal plan, but we shouldn’t just sit here and dwell on it, because, you know, that’s what’s going to drive you crazy, not the dream itself. Why don’t we just have lunch, go back to the TV and get our minds off this, just for now, okay?”

Akira sighed out slowly and nodded quietly in agreement, knowing Sam was right and that the best thing right now was just to wait…her dad would get back to them as soon as he was able and they would be able to clear this whole thing up once and for all. Sam smiled softly, looking to relax a little as he gently squeezed his friend’s shoulder once more, “We’re going to get this all sorted out, Akira, one way or the other and I’ll be there every step of the way, okay?”

A weak smile touched Akira lips and she gave a small nod, touching his hand and squeezing gratefully, “Thanks Sam…you’re a great friend.”

Chuckling gently, Sam got to his feet and kissed Akira’s cheek, squeezing her shoulder, “It’s what I’m here for, isn’t it? If I wasn’t around, you’d probably be in the nut house about now.” He teased her, grinning as she stuck her tongue out at him while he went to find something for both of them in her fridge. Neither was very hungry at the moment, so they decided on something simple and light, which, in reality, came out to be a couple of cold-cut sandwiches and chips each, which they had with their respective alcoholic beverage.

“So, Sammy,” Akira hummed once they’d both sat down at the table with their food, hoping to focus on a lighter subject now. He quirked a brow quizzically at her to encourage her to continue, eating a couple of his chips and waiting while she took a bite out of her sandwich before she turned her attention completely to him, smiling, “You got your proposal all worked out yet?”

Sam couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled up his throat at the bright, curious look in the girl’s bright blue eyes as she stared intently at him, as though she was a little kid watching TV, waiting impatiently for a commercial to be over so they could get back to their favorite show. Sighing and shaking his head slowly in amusement, Sam took a pull of his beer, turning to stare at the wall as though deep in though, teasing Akira while she squirmed anxiously in her seat, waiting for his answer. She finally let out a low whine after just a minute, reaching out to shake his arm, “Sammmmy! Tell me, please!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you, since you’re practically dying to know.” Sam teased, grinning at Akira while she pouted and glared playfully at him, knowing he was teasing her, causing another chuckle to escape his lips, “Okay…so…I was planning on proposing after my interview on Monday, whether it went well or not won’t matter. I was going to take Jess to this great restaurant downtown, nice fancy place, have a great dinner, maybe some champagne,” Akira grinned teasingly, giggling softly, “You always were a romantic, Sammy.” She teased, earning a playful glare from him before she cut him off, “How’re you going to do the actual proposal, though, hm? Will you get down on one knee or will you hide it in a dessert you ‘special ordered’ ahead of time?”

Sam gave a one shouldered shrug, rubbing his neck, “I was actually thinking about do it before we ate…I really don’t think I’d be able to propose to her on a full stomach…I don’t want to risk, well, you know…”

Akira shook her head in amusement, smiling faintly, “Yeah, nothing ruins a romantic evening faster than someone getting puked on.” She hummed in understanding, sipping at her wine once more. Sam sighed slowly, anxiously, as he looked down at his plate, his brows furrowing, while Akira looked at him gently, reaching over to rub his arm gently, “Sam, please don’t worry so much about this…things will be just fine, I promise. Monday is going to be your day; not only will you nail that interview and get that full ride into Stanford you’ve dreamed about, but Jessica will be so overjoyed, she’ll be impatient to become Mrs. Samuel Winchester.”

A goofy smile crossed Sam’s lips at the very thought as his cheeks dusted pink, making a smile light up Akira’s face at the sight as she suppressed a giggle behind her free hand as she squeezed his forearm once more.

“Things will go well, Sam, I just know it.” She smiled happily at him, looking deep into his eyes, “Just as I told you this morning, you have to look at everything you’ve gotten accomplished thus far; you got away from your family, the business you did not wish to be included in…came here to attend the school of your dreams to become a lawyer like you’ve always wanted, met your dream woman along the way…you’ve achieved a lot of the things you’ve been aiming for, you’re halfway up the mountain…and I know you have the strength of will to make it all the way to the top. Things are going to go well for you, just as you deserve.”

A grateful smile touched Sam’s lips as he put a gentle hand over Akira’s, giving it a gentle squeeze, “Do you always know just what to say…?”

This caused a couple of giggles to escape from between Akira’s lips as she gave him an amused smile, “That could be why people usually come to me for advice, you know.” She joked, giggling softly while Sam shook his head, chuckling himself and smiling at Akira as she gently wrapped a hand behind his neck and brought his forehead down to her level so she could place a gentle kiss on his skin. When she pulled back again, she gently brushed the hair from Sam’s face, still smiling softly as she looked into her best friend’s eyes once more.

“You’re going to do just fine, Sam...just as you have been these last four years.”

Sam chuckled once more, squeezing Akira’s hand once more, “Thank you, Akira…” he whispered, kissing her cheek in gratitude and pulling back to smile at her once more before they pulled apart to finish their lunch.

After lunch, the rest of the day was spent doing chores around the house, since Akira didn’t want to risk falling asleep and having the same dream for the third time in one day. Sam helped her to clean a few rooms in the apartment and then the duo went out for a few quick errands Akira needed to get done. By the time they were done, Jessica had arrived home from work and was getting changed into her sexy nurse costume to go to the bar. She teased the two of them for not having costumes for Halloween, but they both reminded her that this holiday was not particularly their thing and she, mercifully, didn’t press the issue any further. She did, however, manage to persuade Akira to put on a sexier outfit to see if she couldn’t get some action for herself while they were out.

The bar they go to that night is decorated for the holiday much like the diner Akira and Sam had gone to that morning, albeit with more cobwebs and some gargoyles, one of which was wearing a baseball hat that said ‘GET NAKED’ on it in big red letters. The trio gets themselves a table against the wall as the classic song ‘What’cha Gonna Do?’ starts to play over the loudspeakers, and orders some drinks from the bar. Jess raises her glass in a gesture of a toast just as their friend, Luis, who’s dressed up in a ghoul’s costume, joins them. They greet him cheerfully, then return their attention to the blond with her drink still hoisted up in the air as she smiles brightly.

“Here’s to Sam,” she said brightly, giving her boyfriend, soon to be fiance, Akira mentally added, a proud smile, “for his awesome LSAT victory.”

Sam chuckled bashfully, rubbing his neck, “All right, guys…it isn’t that big of a deal…” he tells them as the four of them clink glasses and the two women give him teasing smiles.

“There he goes again with that sweet modesty of his.” Akira said, sticking her tongue out at Sam as he glared playfully at her and gently shoved her shoulder, making her laugh softly as Jess giggled.

“You did score a one seventy-four, Sam, that’s a cause for celebration.” She told him as both men threw back their shots while Luis raised his eyebrows quizzically at Sam.

“Is one seventy-four good?”

“Yeah, like scary good.” Akira giggled while she and Jess threw back their shots as well while Luis chuckles and thumps Sam on the back, “Well then, there you go, you’re a first-round draft pick. Now you’ll be able to go to any law school you want.”

“Well, actually…” Sam looked at Akira, who quirks her brows encouragingly before he turned his attention to the other two table occupants, “I’ve got an interview here on Monday, and if that goes well, I’d have a shot at a full ride next year.”

Jess smiled, reaching out to run her hand over Sam’s back and kiss his cheek, cocking her head, “It’s going to go great, Sam.” She told him gently while he nodded gratefully, leaning over to kiss her back, “I hope so.”

Luis can’t help but chuckle as Akira shakes her head at the two, smiling, “So, Sam, how’s it feel to be considered the golden boy of the fam, huh?”

An uncomfortable look crossed Sam’s face and he gave a small, anxious smile, “Well…my family doesn’t exactly…know about this…”

Luis blinked in surprise, cocking his head slightly, “Why wouldn’t they know? It had been me, I would’ve been gloating about it to everyone.”

“Sam’s family isn’t actually the Brady Bunch…” Akira pointed out as she gently squeezed Sam’s hand under the table, knowing how sensitive a topic his family was. Luis shook his head, chuckling, “And I’m not really one of the Huxtables, am I? Anyway, anyone else want another shot?”

Sam and Jess both shake their heads in unison, saying they’d had enough, but Akira decides she wants a little bit more and follows Luis up to the bar. Sam watches her go quietly, a small smile tugging his lips as he watches her get into a conversation with a young man in a vampire costume. Jess smiles herself, leaning her chin gently on his shoulder.

“Looks like Akira starting to open up again…” she said, looking up at Sam as he gave a small nod, sighing. Jess cocks her head slightly, frowning for a moment as she gently cups his chin, turning his face back around to look at her, “Are you okay?”

Sam offers her a small smile, nodding, “Yeah, just, uh…just nervous about Monday…”

Jess smiles softly again, “Hey, don’t worry too much about it Sam, you’re gonna knock ‘em dead and get that full ride, I just know it. I’m really proud of you, you know?” Sam can’t help but chuckle, gently cupping Jess’s hand as he looks deep into her eyes. “What would I do without you?” Jess smiles teasingly, laughing.

“Probably crash and burn, especially when Akira wasn’t watching over you.” She told him, gently pulling him in for a kiss while he chuckled softly.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

It would be close to 11 PM by the time Akira returned to her apartment that night, drunk and physically sore. She stumbled into her apartment after she managed to get her door open, sighing as she pushed the door closed behind her before she headed into the kitchen for a water bottle, grumbling under her breath about damned playboys. It had turned out the guy that’d been flirting with her had had a girlfriend, who had actually come to the bar to find him; the two women had gotten into an argument when the girlfriend accused her of trying to seduce her man and began screaming profanities at her. Akira had done her best to appease the jealous woman and had even tried just leaving the bar to avoid a fight. Unfortunately for her, however, the young woman was not so easily appeased and actually physically attacked her, forcing Akira to have to defend herself until the police arrived to break up the fight. They both gave their testaments and both young women were, mercifully, given a slap on the wrist before being sent home. Sam and Jessica, who Akira had caught a ride to the bar with, had gone home shortly before the girlfriend showed up and started harassing Akira and she had no idea where Luis could have gone, so Akira had to call a taxi to take her home. It had been just the perfect fucking ending to this night…

Sighing to herself warily as she closed the fridge behind her, Akira gulped down half her water bottle and leaned warily back into the counter, staring into the shadows of her apartment, listening absentmindedly to the clock tick away on the far wall. She didn’t move for a long while, her gaze unfocused, her mind wandering off on it’s own, giving her body free reign for a short time, during which it decided a hot bath was most definitely needed at this very moment to help with it’s aches and pains. She couldn’t even bring herself to care about the late hour, not now, not after everything that had happened over the course of the last fifteen hours. She was just so tired, so strung out after everything…she needed something…anything to help her relax, help her forget things, even just for a few minutes, a few seconds….

Her usual bubble bath was drawn, with the addition of her favorite lavender and sakura petal bah salts, the atmospheric lighting of a small platoon of scented candles, and some low music composed mostly of old fashioned instruments over the sound of nature.

A soft groan of appreciation escaped the young woman’s lips as she sank slowly into the soothingly hot water, setting herself into the white, claw-footed tub with her head resting back against a small towel laid against the rim. Her eyes slowly slid closed in bliss at the feeling of the hot water encasing her tired, aching body, willing her muscles to relax as it soothed her bumps and scraps, her days’ worry and stress away. She still had so much to worry about….that dream she’d been having and trying to find answers for it…her own educational career and her future but right now…she just wanted to forget all about it….just for a little while…just…for a few…

Akira must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing she remembers is being jolted back to the waking world by a noise out in her apartment. It takes her a moment to realize what is going on, but when she’s finally coherent again, her body is immediately tensed, ready for a fight, as she reaches over to the speakers resting on the toilet tank beside the tub to pause her music to hear for any other sounds, anything that could indicate a break in. A moment later, she can hear the sound of something breaking in the kitchen, followed by a string of profanities in a low, male voice.

Narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips quietly, Akira quietly hoisted herself out of her tub, wrapping herself in her plush lavender bathrobe before retrieving the hidden knife she kept in her medicine cabinet for just such emergencies and slipping carefully out into her bedroom, spotting the open window across the room. Something else fell in the kitchen, a glass broken on the floor as she hear the familiar creak of her fridge being opened and closed, causing a frown to encase her features as she held her knife in a tight, white knuckled grip; this burglar had some balls breaking into her apartment and helping himself not only to her valuables, but her food as well. She worked hard for everything she had, damn it!

Moving with the stealth of a cat, Akira crept to the double glass doors that separated her bedroom from the rest of the apartment and peered cautiously around the doorframe. A single beam of light crossed the wood floor from the open fridge, where she could see the silhouette of a man holding the door, peering in curiously at the contents within. Something gleamed on the floor, catching her attention as she glanced down at the jagged pieces of glass laying in a pool of dark liquid by the wall, which made her frown as she returned her attention to the man; he sighed and stepped unsteadily back from the fridge as he let the door close, grumbling something incoherent under his breath. Geeze, what kind of piss-poor burglar was this guy, getting drunk before he broke into someone else’s house to steal from them…? Was he trying to get caught or what…? Well…at least he hadn’t tried to come after her….then he wouldn’t be a ‘he’ anymore…

After watching the guy stumble his way over to her couch and make himself at home, Akira decided the most humane thing here would be to knock the bastard out and get him out of here as quick as possible. And, since he’d ruined her nice relaxing bath, hopefully she’d be able to manage to get some sleep after this whole mess…

With this plan in mind, Akira stashed her knife in a pocket of her robe (because, honestly, she wasn’t stupid or naïve) and crept up on the drunkard, intending to knock him out with a pinch to his shoulder when his hand suddenly shot up and caught hers’. With very little time to react, Akira suddenly felt a tug and yelped as she was yanked over the back of the couch. Her body took seconds to respond as she felt the man attempt to pin her down to the couch, her free hand flying out to connect with his cheek as her knees came up to connect with his stomach, causing a grunt to escape him as his head snapped sideways. She didn’t even wait for him to react before she kicked him lower, landing a swift, but hard kick to the family jewels. The man almost automatically stiffened as a moan of pain escaped his lips, his body curling in on itself as he rolled off her onto the floor, curling into a ball as he, presumably, clutched at his brutalized groin. Akira didn’t waste any time as she scrambled to get up over the arm of the couch and run for the wall phone in the kitchen, but then suddenly something caught her ankle, making her crash to the floor with a loud thump. She hurriedly flipped onto her side as she felt herself getting dragged backward toward her intruder, hearing him grunt and wheeze out in pain as he tried to get a better hold on her; her free leg automatically kicked out as soon as she felt his hand close around her knee and she was sure she heard a crack as her heel slammed into his face. The man cried out and released her, giving Akira the opportunity to scramble up once more, although it was the voice that pierced the darkness that managed to freeze her in her tracks. It was a voice she could recognize anywhere, a voice she knew as well as Sam’s or her own.

“Arashi?” she called out in surprise as she hurried to turn on the overhead light to see if it really was her brother, her eyes widening at the familiar figure curled up in a ball on her rug. He rolled halfway onto his back, bright red/brown eyes glaring at her through slender, callused fingers and curly black hair.

“Who the hell were you fucking expecting, the tooth fairy?” he snapped, clutching at the bridge of his nose, which she could already see was beginning to swell, blood dripping down his face and off his sharp, angled chin while his left cheek was beginning to bruise. Offering an apologetic smile, knowing how temperamental her twin could be when he was drunk, Akira hurried back to his side to help him back onto the couch, telling him to stay put while she got ice and paper towels.

“I’m sorry I attacked you, Arashi…I thought you might’ve been a burglar or something…” she told him ten minutes later, after they’d stopped his nosebleed and put ice on all his injured areas, frowning at him in concern while he had an icepack pressed between his cheek and nose. He peered sideways at her and side, shrugging, “Eh, it’s fine sis….if I were you, I probably would’ve done the same thing…well, except maybe aiming for the jewels…because that fucking kills…”

Akira gave a small smile and shook her head empathically, knowing her brother wouldn’t have changed much during the couple of months they’d been apart. Unlike Sam, Akira was still on good terms with her family and made a point to visit them during the holidays and for a couple of weeks during the summer. Arashi was much the same as he had been since they’d been teenagers, from his attitude and personality all the way down to his preferred outfit, which still consisted of a thin black tank top under a black leather jacket and dark blue skinny jeans. He even still wore the little wooden amulet charm he’d gotten from their father for Christmas when they were kids.

“But, you know, I’m proud of you, Aki, you haven’t let your skills get rusty. I’d hate for some guy to take advantage of you and you not being able to defend yourself.”

Laughing softly and affectionately shoving his shoulder, Akira gave Arashi a grateful smile, “Can’t exactly live without my skills…hunter or not.” She sighed, blowing the hair out of her face before she fixed her brother with a curious gaze, “But, you know, you could have called me instead of breaking into my apartment, drunk out of your freaking mind….then you could’ve saved yourself the ass-kicking. Did something happen? Is dad okay?”

“He’s fine.” Arashi told her reassuringly as he pulled the icepack from his face, sighing out slowly, “Same as he’s always been, off on a mission about now, actually…but he is the reason why I’m here, Akira…there’s something you need to know…”

Akira frowned at the dark look that came over Arashi’s face, her brows furrowing worriedly as she touched his arm, squeezing softly, “What ever it is, Arashi, please tell me….I want to know…”

He looked up slowly to meet his sister’s gaze, frowning quietly as he searched her eyes to be sure before he sighed slowly and nodded. He touched her hand gently and squeezed, not breaking eye contact with her.

“Akira….I found out today….Bobby Singer….he isn’t our real father…”

Akira felt her heart sink in her chest as these words left Arashi’s lips, her eyes widening in shock as something inside of her cracked and splintered.

“We’re adopted.”


	2. Back Into the Fray

“W-we’re....what?!!”

A sigh escaped Arashi’s lips as he frowned at his sister, furrowing his brows at the different emotions that flickered across her face through the shocked expression that contorted her features, jaw slack and brows raised high on her forehead as she tried to wrap her brain around this. It was a lot to take in, he knew all too well, but he could say for certain that Akira was handling it somewhat better than he had when he’d found out. At least she wasn’t destroying anything…or calling their adopted father to scream at him like he had…the Singer twins were a good example of everyone handling situations differently. But something like this was big…to know that the man that had raised and cared for them their whole lives was not who he had said he was, especially when it was a man who had been the only father they had ever known, or really remembered, their entire lives, was not really their father…it was pretty devastating…and it brought up a lot of questions…

The questions highest on the list mostly corresponded with why? Why had their biological parents given them up? Why them? Why hadn’t Bobby ever thought to tell them this…? Why did things have to turn out this way…? Just…why?!

“You’re joking, aren’t you?” Akira whispered, looking up at her brother with tearful eyes, her lips setting determinedly into a thin white line as her brows furrowed over the bridge of her nose, “Because if you think this is funny, it isn’t Arashi! Why would you even -?”

“Akira, you have no idea just how much I wish I was joking, but I’m not, this is serious!” Arashi said sternly, reaching into his jacket to pull out a small hard cover book Akira hadn’t seen yet before. She frowned, wondering how this could possibly explain anything, but Arashi was already flipping through the pages before she could even open her mouth. When he found the page he was looking for, he handed the journal to her, tapping the page he’d opened it to.

“Read this entry here…it’ll explain…”

Akira frowned pensively, but pulled the book close, frowning quietly. It was dated June 21, 1985. 20 years ago…

_What the hell was that igit thinking?! As if things weren’t bad enough with Sam and Dean involved in all this shit, now we have a pair of twins we have to worry about, too…I just want to know what the hell was going through John’s head when he agreed to take them…he’s already got his hands full with his own boys and trying to find the thing that killed his wife…I’ve told him I would take the twins myself...he seems somewhat reluctant to let me take care of them, however….there are very few things he’s told me about these two…he’s kept it strictly on a need to know basis._

_There are two very important things I do know, however…one, they are the children of a friend of his being chased by the supernatural. John’s only told me the twins were left in his care to be kept out of danger, yet he has not told me their parents names or what is chasing them and why. Two, their names are Arashi and Akira. John refused to utter their last name or a reason why._

_One or both of their parents must have been Japanese, though, judging by their first names alone. Mostly a theory, but, it’s the best I’ve got…especially without a last name to verify it…or even be able to do a proper background check…guess I’ll just have to trust John on this one…_

_Hopefully no surprises come knocking at my door for them…_

Akira lowered the journal into her lap, clenching it tightly in her hands as she was shaking, slowly letting this sink in as tears swim in her eyes. This….this couldn’t be real….this…how could…? _Why_?

“Where did you find this?” she asked in a strangled voice as she glanced up at her brother with a frown, which he mirrored, almost perfect.

“Dad’s closet at home…I was looking for some shotgun shells and accidentally knocked an old box over, spilled all the contents everywhere…” he explained, gulping thickly as he clenched his fist around his icepack, “I bent to pick everything up and found the journal…thought their might be some funny entries in there, anecdotes from when we were kids that Dean and I could laugh over….but then I found this entry…I was pissed, to say the least…got into dad’s liquor cabinet, destroyed half the house and called him blind-stinking drunk, screaming at him...I said some things I didn’t mean…” he leaned forward, covering his face with one of his hands while Akira frowned at him.

“You…you didn’t drive here like that, did you?” she asked, her voice cracking in fear at the thought as she stared at Arashi with wide eyes. He shook his head, running his hand down his face, “No…Dean refused to let me even get on my bike while I was wasted and gave me a ride here…he needed to come talk to Sam, anyway…Uncle John’s missing…”

Akira’s eyes widened further, “What? Did something happen?”

Arashi shrugged, slowly leaning back into the couch once more, “We don’t exactly know everything yet…he just went on a mission a couple days ago and never came back…Dean got worried, thought we could use a couple more people after we left dad’s…wanted to come here to ask for your and Sam’s help.”

“Where is Dean?”

Arashi opened his mouth to speak, but then there was a brief knock on the front door, making the twins look up, blinking, as they heard Sam’s voice from out in the hall.

“Akira, open up, it’s me. And Dean.”

Akira glanced briefly at her brother as she got to her feet, “I’m coming, Sam, hang on!” she called, hurrying around the couch and crossing to the door as Arashi stood up behind her, still clutching the icepacks in his hand. She unlocked the door and let it swing open to allow the brothers entrance; Sam strode into the apartment silently, his jaw and lips set tightly. Dean followed him in, that all too familiar, smug smirk on his lips as his eyes settled on her.

“Hey, there’s my sister from another mister!” he said joyfully, scooping Akira up into a tight hug, a squeal escaping her lips as she was lifted off her feet. She couldn’t help but laugh a bit, though, smiling at the older man in amusement while she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck, returning the hug.

“Okay, okay!” she giggled, playfully hitting Dean’s shoulder, “Let me down, you big Neandertal! I’m only wearing a small robe in a roomful of men!”

“Aw, you’re not going to give us a show?” Dean asked teasingly as he returned Akira to the floor, grinning at her as she gave him a shot in the arm while she glared at him playfully, “Too bad, it would’ve made the drive here more worth it.” He snickered.

“Why are the two of you here again?” Sam asked testily, crossing his arms tightly over his chest as he frowned at his brother, his brows furrowed as he leaned against the island in the middle of Akira’s kitchen. Arashi walked around the island to put his icepacks in the sink, quirking a brow at Sam, frowning.

“Someone’s wound tighter than a box spring.” He muttered, joining Sam on his side of the island. Sam frowned at him, sighing, “I just want to know what the hell’s going on….I haven’t seen either of you,” he indicated Dean and Arashi, “In years, and suddenly you pop up out of nowhere, waking us up in the middle of the night…what does our dad’s disappearance have to do with Akira and I?”

“We need both of you to help us find him.” Dean told him seriously, looking between his brother and adopted sister.

“And what, exactly, makes you think that we’re just going to drop everything to help you?” Sam furrowed his brows. Akira nodded her head, somewhat reluctantly as she leaned into the back of her couch, bracing her hands on either side of her as she looked between Dean and Arashi.

“Sam is right, guys…you can’t just expect us to just hit the road with you…did either of you consider we might have something important going on here?”

“Neither of you is really listening…” Dean cut in urgently, waving off Akira’s words, “Our dad is missing. We need your help.”

“Yeah, but you remember our other jobs in the past, the poltergeist in Amherst, or even the Devil’s Gates in Clifton? Dad’s always missing at one point or another, but then he turns up just fine.”

“Uncle John never disappeared for this long before, though…” Arashi argued, “We can’t wait any longer than this…now are the two of you coming with us or not?”

“Sorry, not….” Sam sighed as Akira shook her head. Dean frowned, as though silently asking why the hell not. Akira crossed her arms over her chest, frowning at him.

“Sam and I said we were done with hunting…” she told them, pursing her lips tightly at the two, “For good.”

“Aw c’mon, Aki…” Dean sighed, “I know the jobs weren’t easy, but they weren’t all that bad, either, were they? Bobby never pushed either you or Arashi like our dad did.”

“Yeah, he never gave either of us a .45 whenever we told him we thought there was something hiding in our closets or under our beds.”

“Just put wards up to keep monsters out and would sing us back to sleep…” Arashi grinned, “Very badly, if I might add…”

Dean snorted, “Least he didn’t try to bullshit either of you and try to convince either of you not to be afraid of the dark when there are plenty of reasons for you to be. All of us here know what lurks out in the shadows.”

“Yeah, we do, even now.” Sam agreed, sighing slowly, “It was the way all of us were raised, especially after we lost both our mothers and our dad became obsessed with finding the thing that killed her.”

Dean glanced at the twins as they avoided looking at Sam, their recent discovery still fresh in their minds. Akira hugged herself quietly, clenching her fists as Arashi set his lips, sighing out slowly. Sam chewed his lip, oblivious to either twins’ inner turmoil.

“Not like we ever found the thing, anyway….just killed whatever supernatural creature we came across…”

“Still end up saving people, though, don’t we?” Arashi pointed out, his voice sounding a bit strained now. Sam glanced at him, frowning, but he wouldn’t look at him, which made Sam sigh as he turned to his brother again.

“Hey Dean…you think….either of our mothers would have wanted this life for us…?”

Dean pursed his lips tightly and rolled his eyes as he went toward the fridge.

“No beers in there, man.” Arashi told him quietly; Dean ignored him and opened the fridge door, searching the contents inside before he pulled out a water bottle, which he took a long drag from it. The other three watched them quietly for a moment, a sigh pulling from Akira’s lips now.

“Can’t really blame Sam for asking, Dean…how all of us grew up…melting silver into bullets, training with weapons before we were even pre-teens…we weren’t kids…we were warriors.” Akira pointed out quietly, lifting her thumb to her lips, chewing on the nail anxiously as Sam nodded his head quietly. Dean snorted, taking another pull from his water bottle.

“So is this how the two of you want to live, hm? Some normal, apple pie life?”

“It’s not completely normal.” Akira told him quietly, shaking her head slowly, “No, not normal, just safe.”

“That why the two of you left, then?” Dean muttered softly, raising his brows, “Just for the safety…?” he shook his head, looking away again as Sam sighed.

“Look, Aki and I just wanted to go away to college, excuse me if dad wasn’t as supportive as Bobby was…” he grit his teeth, “Least Bobby never told Akira to stay gone when she wanted to leave…I was just following dad’s advice.”

“Yeah well…when all’s said and done, I know you’re just as concerned for dad as I am….he’s not dead yet, just in trouble.” Dean pointed out, earning a quizzically raised brow from both Sam and Akira now. “I can feel it.”

Neither Sam nor Akira said anything, although they exchanged a quiet, contemplative look before they looked between their brothers.

“You both know you could go look for him yourselves.” Akira told them, leaning forward thoughtfully, “So why don’t you?”

The men exchanged their own look without a word and Arashi pushed his hair back out of his face, “Probably ‘cuz we don’t want to…”  
  
Sam lets out a deep sigh, covering his face with his hands as Akira chewed her bottom lip anxiously, glancing at her best friend. He ran his hands down his face, meeting her gaze for a couple of heartbeats before they both sighed together.

“What was Uncle John hunting when he disappeared?” Akira asked them, earning a small grin from Arashi as Dean reached into his jacket, pulling a file out for them, which he handed to Akira to look through. Sam crossed to her side, leaning against the couch and leaning over for a glimpse of the file himself while he addressed Dean and Arashi.

“Neither of you thought to go with him?”

Dean shrugged, “Ara and I were out on our own job, checking out this weird voodoo thing down in New Orleans.”

“Uncle John was okay with the two’ve you going off on a job of your own?” Akira quirked her brows, glancing up at them from over the file in her hands. Dean quirked his own brow at her, as though surprised by the question as Arashi chuckled.

“Not exactly little kids anymore, are we? We’re twenty-six,” he indicated Dean, “And twenty-two years old.”

“Still a bit surprising, that’s all.” Akira shrugged, returning her attention to the file as Dean crossed his arms, taking Sam’s spot next to Arashi against the island, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Anyway, the job dad was on was out on this two-lane blacktop just outside the city of Jericho, California. That guy in the photo,” he nodded to the print out of an article from the Jericho Herald, headlined Centennial Highway disappearance. The date in the corner read Sept. 19th 2005, just over the photo of a man, captioned Andrew Carey, MISSING. “Ends up MIA, but his car was found, empty, outside an abandoned house.”

“Could’ve been kidnapped…” Akira pointed out, furrowing her brows as she glanced up Dean once more while Arashi cocked his head slightly, “That could be true, if the same thing hadn’t happened to another guy back in April.”

Dean shows Sam and Akira a couple more articles from the same paper, one with the month he mentioned and others dated several years back; December 2004, 2003, 1998, and 1992. Akira mentally counted each of these, frowning deeply.

“Ten men over the last twenty years?” she cocked her head slightly as Dean took the folder back while Arashi nodded.

“All the disappearances happened on the same five-mile stretch of road.” He pointed out as he pushed off the island and shrugged a bag from his shoulders, setting it on the counter as Dean continued to explain what had happened.

“The disappearances started happening more and more, so about three weeks ago dad went to see what he could dig up.” Dean frowned deeply, pursing his lips, “Haven’t heard a peek from him since….which is bad enough in this line of work…”

Arashi takes a handheld tape recorder from the bag, showing it to Sam and Akira, “Then, after that, both of us finally got a couple of voicemails from Uncle John yesterday afternoon…after everything I told you about…” he looked at his sister, who nodded slowly, earning a concerned frown from Sam, although he doesn’t get the chance to open his mouth before Arashi hits play on the device. The recording comes out through the speakers like static and the signal is clearly broken up in places.

“Dean, Arashi…something big, it’s starting….I have to try and figure out what it is. It could….please be careful, boys. We’re all in great danger.”

Akira and Sam both frowned at the recorder as Arashi presses stop and Akira hummed, cocking her head, “Either of you heard that EVP?”

The two men smile together, chuckling faintly in amusement.

“Hm, not too shabby, Aki. It’s really like riding a bike, isn’t it?”

“Hm, suppose…” she sighed, shrugging a bit while Dean takes the recorder himself.

“All right, well, we slowed the message down, ran it through a gold wave, removed the hiss, and this is what we found.” He hit the play button again and a quite, female voice whispers out through the speakers.

_“I can never go home…”_

Dean stops the recording again as Sam and Akira exchange a thoughtful look, “Never go home…” they murmur together while Arashi takes the recorder back and returns it to his bag, pushing the bangs out of his eyes once more as Dean glances at his brother.

“You know…it’s been almost two years since I’ve talked to you, I never once bothered you for anything, not one damn thing….at least think about this…”

Akira looked gently up at Sam, who frowned as he glanced away, furrowing his brows deeply. She squeezed his arm gently, “He is your dad, Sam…no matter what happens.”

Sam turned to look at her, meeting her worried gaze and she could see the cogs slowly turning in his mind as he considered this. He finally sighed, looking at his brothers again.

“Fine, I’ll go…I’ll help try to find him.”

Dean nods, sighing in relief as Akira gives a small smile, “I’ll go, too….now that I know, I don’t think I’d be able to stop worrying about the three of you even if I tried…besides, Uncle John is our family and I want to know he’s all right, too.” She looked back at Sam, squeezing his arm again, “We just have to be sure we’re back before Monday morning. I’m going to get dressed and pack a bag, you should probably do the same, Sam.”

Sam nodded quietly and headed toward the door as Akira made a beeline for her room, although Dean’s voice stopped either of them before they were out of sight as he looked between them both.

“Something important going on Monday for the two of you?” he raised his brows, crossing his arms over his chest. Akira stops in the door to her bedroom, looking back at Dean and Arashi, the later of whom was watching her with a quirked brow before she looked to where Sam stood in her door. He sighed out once more, turning to face Dean again.

“I have a….a real important interview Monday.” He said softly, causing Dean’s eyebrows to raise in question and he cocked his head slightly, blinking, “A job interview? Why don’t you just skip it?”

“Great attitude, Dean…” Akira rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, “No, it’s an interview at a law school Sam wants to get into…it’s the full ride he’s always been looking for and it could determine his entire future.” She smiled gently at her best friend as he gave her a grateful look, nodding his head as Dean looked between them once more, blinking, before settling his gaze on his younger brother.

“Law school, seriously?” he smirked, amused, making Sam roll his eyes. “Look, we got a deal or not, Dean?”

Dean shrugs a bit, “Sure Sammy, whatever you say. We’ll see you and Aki downstairs.” He grabbed Arashi and the bag, hauling both out the door as Sam and Akira stared after them; the two then look at one another, shaking their heads in unison before Sam leaves Akira alone to get dressed and packed for their trip.

Akira’s first item of business is in the bathroom, where she extinguishes the candles and drains the bathtub, clearing out the wet towels, speaker, and iPod still sitting on the back of the toilet. Then, once her bathroom is once again in order the young woman retreats into her room to put on clean clothes, which mostly consist of a Green Day t-shirt under her jean jacket and a pair of skinny jeans, and pack her carpet bag with things she needs. The knife from the bathroom is stashed in one of her pockets and she pulls a few more from her nightstand to hide on her person as well while she packs clothes and essentials. Mentally checking everything she needs off in her mind, Akira does a quick sweep of her room and bathroom to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, zips her bag closed, and grabs it and her laptop bag as she leaves. On her way out, however, she spots the broken glass and spilled alcohol on the floor and, with a curse under her breath, hurries to clean it up before she leaves. Sam is coming out of his apartment by the time she’s done and the two hurry off down the hall together once her door is locked, Jessica asking the two of them where exactly they’ll be going. Sam promises to tell her later as they descend the stairs.

“You gonna be okay to drive, Akira?” Sam asked her as they reach the door leading outside; he holds it open for her and follows her out into the chilly November air, their breath hanging in clouds in front of them with each exhale. She glanced back at him, as though asking what makes him think she couldn’t, and he sighed, “It just didn’t look like you’d been woken up when Arashi got into your apartment, looked more like you’d just jumped out of the shower or something. Did you get any sleep at all before Arashi and Dean showed up?”

Akira sighed as they crossed the parking lot to her van, spotting the Impala several spots away, where Dean was leaning against the trunk, his arms crossed; if Akira had to guess, Arashi was probably laying down in the backseat as all the alcohol he’d ingested finally wore off and his body was paying him back for it. Shaking her head, she unlocked her van and pulled the side door open so she and Sam could put their bags inside.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t….I got home not too long before they got here…”

“Did something happen?” Sam asked with a frown, setting his duffel alongside her carpet bag behind the driver’s seat, furrowing his brows as Akira busied herself with organizing everything, trying to avoid the question. He sighed, gently taking Akira’s hand, “Look, I get you don’t want to talk about it, but I can tell you’re tired, Akira. At least lay down in the back and take a quick snooze while I drive. You still have that old sleeping bag Bobby gave you when you and Arashi started going on missions by yourself.”

Akira stopped and glanced up at Sam, unsure, but he raised his brows worriedly at her, frowning until she sighed, conceding, “Fine, but if we get to this place before I wake up, you’d better get me up.” She told him sternly, opening up the long silver box set into the floor behind the driver and passenger side seats; the inside was full, mostly of survival gear, extra food, clothes, blankets, feminine products and a single, rolled up, army green sleeping bag, which Akira took out before closing the box again. Sam sighed in relief and helped Akira move things around so she could unroll the bag and lay down; although carpeted and sparsely furnished with a couple of secured beanbag chairs behind the driver’s seat, the back of Akira’s van was mostly empty, making it easy for her to be able to unroll her sleeping bag and get some sleep while Sam followed Dean where they needed to go.

It hardly feels like she’s been asleep five minutes before she’s rudely awoken by something bright hitting her square in the face; Akira groans and rolls over onto her other side, covering her head with her arms as someone chuckles behind her, the van shifting beneath her while someone sits down in the open door.

“Dean, I swear to god if that’s you…”

“Sorry, not Dean…”

Akira glances over her shoulder, squinting in the bright sunlight as Sam smiles apologetically at her, leaning back against the doorframe, his hands resting in his lap. She sighs and rolls onto her back as she sits up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes while she peers out at the convenience store they’re parked at. A yawn escapes her lips and she runs her hands through her messy hair, blinking.

“Why’ve we stopped?” she asked Sam as she unzips the sleeping bag and pulls her sneakers back on, “And what time is it?”

“Uh,” Sam checked his watch, “Just about eight-thirty now. And we needed gas….plus, Arashi was complaining about a massive headache and Dean wanted food.”

“Shocker.” Akira shook her head as she pulled her hair into a ponytail and started to roll up her sleep bag again; Sam watched her, the same apologetic smile on his lips, “Wasn’t trying to wake you up yet, though I’d let you sleep a little bit more.”

Akira gave him a reassuring look as she returned the sleeping bag to it’s place and locked the box up again, “Eh, it’s fine, I never wanted to sleep the entire trip, anyway…granola?” she offered him one of the bars she’d taken out and sat beside him in the door of her van as he took it gratefully. “Probably the only good thing we’ll be able to eat this morning….Dean and Arashi’re going to get themselves sick with how much damn junk food they eat.”

Sam grins and nods, taking a bite of the granola bar as Dean comes out of the convenience store with a bag of food and a couple of fountain sodas. The two wave as he grins at them while he crosses the parking lot.

“Hey, there’s sleeping beauty.” He chuckled while Akira stuck her tongue out at him, taking a pull from the water bottle Sam offered her, “We were wondering when you’d be joining us.”

“Oh ha ha.” Akira rolled her eyes and shook her head with a playful smile as Dean walks toward the Impala, which is just at the next pump. He knocks loudly on the top of the car as he passes a pair of legs hanging off the backseat, earning a groan as Arashi sits up.

“Thanks, that really helps my headache.” He said sarcastically, accepting the bottle of aspirin Dean offers him; he looks the part of a hung-over man, with clear bags under his eyes, skin paled with just the faintest tint of green, like he had the flu. Dean ruffles his hair playfully, chuckling as Arashi swatted his hand away while downs a couple of the pills.

“Still running credit card scams, are ya?” Akira asked Dean as he puts the food in the front seat and finishing filling the gas tank. He gives her a crooked smile as Arashi switches to the passenger seat in the Impala, closing both doors as quietly as he could behind him.

“We don’t exactly get paid to be hunters, remember?” he shrugged, “We gotta live somehow. ‘Sides, all dad, Arashi, or I ever do is apply, it isn’t our faults if we get sent the cards.”

“Oh yeah?” Sam shook his head, amused, “And, pray tell, what are the names the three of you go by now?”

Dean stops as he moves to round the Impala back to the driver’s seat, glancing toward Sam and Akira with quirked brows, “Hm, well, there’s Burt Aframian and his two sons, Hector, and Alec. Scored three new cards.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Akira sighed as she and Sam closed the back of the van and he tossed her the keys as they climbed into the front. Sam pulls a couple of CDs out of the glove compartment and pops in one they both enjoy as they follow Dean out of the station and back onto the road.

“So…what happened last night after Jess and I left the bar?” Sam asked after a short stretch of silence, glancing at Akira, who kept her eyes on the road, her lips pursed, “You didn’t hit it off with that guy that was flirting with you?”

Akira gave a shallow laugh, shaking her head, “Kinda hard to when the guy’s girlfriend comes storming into the bar accusing you of trying to seduce her man and then proceeding to try to fight you for them.” Sam gave her a sympathetic look, frowning deeply, “Got even better….tried to back out of the fight and leave, but the girl kept hounding me, even after I left the bar and the police ended up getting called. Thankfully things didn’t escalate further than that and I got to go home.” She sighed once more, pursing her lips as she kept her eyes on the road again, unable to meet her best friend’s eyes, “Didn’t end up getting home until after a eleven, at which point, I thought, ‘hm, maybe a nice bath could help calm me down…’ Can’t even fully enjoy that when my brother breaks into my house, making me think he was a burglar and beating the shit out of him before realizing who it is….and, to top it all off, I have to learn from said brother that the man who raised us isn’t who he says he is…”

Sam quirked a brow curiously then, blinking at Akira as he leans against his door, crossing his arms, “You mean Bobby…? He’s your dad and a hunter…what else could he possibly be aside from that, a runway model?” he joked half-heartedly, trying to make Akira laugh, although the smile slipped from his lips as he noticed the dark look the descended over her features, her bottom lip quivering as she blinked to keep her eyes from tearing up. Sam’s heart clenched painfully and he reached over to touch her arm, giving it a tight squeeze, “What is it, Akira….what did Arashi tell you…?”

Akira’s hands tightened on the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white with the strain as she took in a deep breath to recollect herself before slowly releasing it once more.k

“Bobby Singer isn’t our real father, Sam….” She managed to get out as her throat closed tightly, eyes filling with tears. She wet her lips and cleared her throat as she willed her emotions under control, taking in a deep breath once more, “Arashi and I are adopted...”

Silence filled the car then as Sam stared at Akira with wide, disbelieving eyes while he tried to absorb this information. Akira couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze, unsure how he would take this. She was having a hard time really understanding this whole situation herself…she knew her best friend would be empathetic to her plight, but beyond that, she wasn’t sure….she was still trying to wrap her brain around this whole idea, so she couldn’t exactly think straight right now to be able to figure it out. Something like this was huge, especially after everything they’d been through, not just her and Sam, but both of their brothers, too. Bobby had been a big part of all their lives, practically raised all four of them lovingly when neither twin had anyone else and the Winchesters father was off on some mission that was too dangerous to bring either Sam or Dean around when they were kids. They’d all been a family who cared about one another and looked out for each other no matter what happened, who always trusted each other, were loyal to each other without question. it just made this new realization all the more unreal...

Sam cleared his throat with some difficulty, pulling Akira from her thoughts as she glanced quietly at him out of the corner of her eye, frowning, “How can….does Arashi have any proof to back this up….? I mean…something like this, it….this is pretty serious, especially after everything…”

Akira sighed, returning her attention ahead, “He ended up finding one of dad’s old journals while he was trying to find ammo for him and Dean in one of the closets….it had an entry dated back twenty years ago….it’s in my bag in the back if you want to look at it…”

Sam frowned pensively, chewing his bottom lip before he nodded and unbuckled himself to lean into the back to rummage through Akira’s carpet bag for the journal. When he had what he was looking for, he sat back in his seat, secured his seatbelt once more, then flipped to the page Akira told him. His face contorted as he read, his eyebrows furrowing as his lips set into a thin line; he looked up slowly when he finished, resting his head back into the seat.

“Wow, this is….huge…” he whispered, still trying to wrap his brain around it; a thought suddenly occurred to him, then, however, and he turned to Akira once more, “Do you think this could be connected to that dream you’ve always had? The one with the guy and his two kids? What if that guy was your and Arashi’s biological father? And the kids in the back were the two of you? Your subconscious was probably trying to remind you of him, but you got separated from him so young that you couldn’t…”

Akira frowned quietly, furrowing her brows, “It would explain why I would dream about someone I don’t know….and why it always seemed like the guy was being chased, but….I don’t know, Sam, I mean….the dream always ended with the car getting hit by a train with the guy and his kids still inside. Arashi and I couldn’t’ve magically survived something like that at, what, two years old?”

“Not unless your dad was magical himself…” Sam pointed out, pulling Akira up short as she looked at him fully now, her frown deepening, “I mean, in here, it says Bobby has no idea who or what your parents were or where the two of you came from. The only one who does know is my dad. It would explain the strange things that happened to you yesterday,” Akira scoffed, running her fingers through her bangs to push them back, “Like you hearing those voices even though no one was talking, reading minds.”

“So what, you think Arashi and I are some supernatural creatures with otherworldly abilities?” she asked, glancing at Sam again anxiously, “That maybe we were being chased by other creatures, or even some hunters? That’s why Arashi and I were orphaned, raised by a hunter to be hunters ourselves? How does that make any kind of sense?!”

“It doesn’t…” Sam sighed, quickly grabbing Akira’s arm and squeezing tightly, giving her an apologetic look, “I know it doesn’t, and that isn’t what I’m saying, Aki, trust me…but this…we can’t just sweep this under the rug, this is important.” He turned fully to face her, setting the journal aside, “Look, this could just be a possibility, just one, among many, but we won’t know for sure until we can talk to someone who actually knows everything…like my dad.”

Akira chewed her bottom lip, looking slowly at Sam again as his smile softened.

“I’m sure we can clear this up, Akira, we just have to talk to him. Once we find him, we can ask about your parents and get everything out in the open, okay?” she gave a small nod. “But until then, we’ll just keep this to ourselves, at least until we know everything. Then we can talk to Dean and Arashi about it.”

Akira tensed at the thought of how Dean would react, biting down on her bottom lip as she gave another small nod; Sam squeezed her arm once more, frowning, as he reassured her things would be okay. She gave him a small, grateful smile in return, nodding her head quietly.

The rest of the drive is mostly quiet as Akira follows the Impala onto the Centennial Highway while Sam looks through more of Bobby’s journal in the hopes he’ll find something else out about the twins’ past. He’s still looking by the time they pass a sign on the side of the road announcing they were coming up on the Jericho exit. They take it off the highway and follow a long stretch of road until they spot a bridge just ahead, where a couple of police cars are parked; the officers themselves surround a car prked in the middle of a bridge. Dean flashes his break lights and Akira pulls over to the side of the road behind him.

*Looks like it’s show time…” Akira sighed, cutting the engine and unbuckling herself, “Be sure to stash that in the glove compartment, we can look later.” She told Sam as she got out of the van while he nods. The two of them move around the Impala to join Arashi and Dean on the passenger side, where he hands them each a fake badge. They each raise a brow quizzically as they take the badges, but neither get the chance to ask before Dean clears his throat to speak.

“Ara just got off the phone with the local hospital a few minutes ago. Neither it nor the morgue had anyone who matched dad’s description…”

Akira pocketed her badge, sweeping the bangs back out of her eyes.

“That’s something, I guess…?” she mutters, exchanging a look with Sam, who gives a half hearted shrug in reply.

“Let’s just go see what’s going on here and we’ll see if we can’t pick up any clues to where he is…” he sighed, starting toward the bridge. Akira follows him while Dean and Arashi look at one another, shrug, and head after them. One of the officers, a deputy, according to the ironed on patch on his left shoulder, leans over the railing, calling to a couple of men in wetsuits down in the river. He frowns and turns to join his partner in the car, where he’s looking around the driver’s seat. The four young adults walk up to the scene casually as they look around the crime scene.

“Wasn’t this the Troy that’s been dating your daughter?” One of the men, Jaffe, asks the other, frowning deeply while his partner nods, sighing. The first man cocks his head, concerned, “How’s Amy taking all this?”

The other man, Hein, shrugged, “As well as anyone in her place could be…she’s been hanging up missing posters everywhere downtown for him…”

“Two missing people within a month of each other?” Arashi called, hooking his thumbs into the belt loops of his jeans as Jaffe glances over his shoulder at them and pulls his head out of the car to straight up and address them properly, “Must be something bad going around.”

“And the four of you are?” he asked, quirking a brow. Arashi and Dean flash him their badges.

“Federal marshals.” Dean explains with a grin. Both of Jaffe’s eyebrows raise now and he lifts his chin a bit as he eyes each of them, “Aren’t the four of you a bit young to be marshals?”

“Mighty kind of you to say so, officer.” Arashi chuckles with a fake smile as Akira approaches the car, examining it closely with narrowed eyes while Sam speaks with an officer.

“Yeah, last job was just like this one…” Jaffe told him, nodding with a frown, “Although the last guy was about a mile up the road…and it wasn’t just those two….there’ve been more men like these two who’ve disappeared like this.”

“So this victim….” Akira turned to look at Jaffe over her shoulder, her head cocked to the side, “You knew him, right?”

“ ‘Course….” Jaffe confirmed, crossing his arms over his chest, “Bit hard not to, with how small our town is. Everyone knows everyone around these parts.”

Dean circled around to the back of the car to inspect it as well, rubbing his chin, “Any of you find a connection between the victims aside from their gender?”

Jaffe shook his head, “Unfortunately not…at least, not yet.”

“Any of you have a theory about it yet?” Sam asked, raising his brows as Akira walked around the car to join Dean across from Jaffe as Arashi looked into the back of the car. Jaffe shook his head once more.

“Not a solid one at the moment…could be a serial murder or some kind of kidnapping ring…”

Arashi snorted, standing straight, “Marvelous work gentleman, that’s the kind of crack police work we’d been expecting.”

Sam gave Arashi a look while Akira stopped on Dean’s foot to keep him from laughing and Sam gave the officer a friendly smile.

“Tank you for your time, gentlemen. We’ve got to be heading back.”

Akira ushered Dean in front of her as Sam pulls Arashi along behind him. When they’re far enough away, Dean smacks Sam across the back of the head.

“Ouch! Why’d you hit me?!” he asked, glaring at his brother; Dean returned it, “You take the punishment for Akira stepping on my foot.”

“Oh please, I could handle one of your swats, Neandertal” Akira told him scathingly, quirking a brow at him, “Unless you forgot the little defeat you suffered when you were seventeen?”

“Hey, that was an accident….you caught me off guard…” Dean trailed off, avoiding Akira’s gaze as she rolled her eyes as Sam stifled a snicker, “Rrright, okay….anyway…neither of you should be so disrespectful…”

Arashi and Dean look at one another with raised eyebrows before Dean moves in front of Sam and Akira, making both of them stop.

“C’mon, both of you know none of those idiots back there really know what’s going on. It’s just the four of us…especially when it comes to finding dad.” He glanced away with a frown, rubbing his neck, “We’re the only ones who’re going to be able to really get to the bottom of things…”

Akira looks past Dean and tenses when she spots another sheriff approaching them with a couple of FBI agents behind them. Sam quickly clears his throat, making Dean turn as Arashi gives the trio a friendly smile while Sheriff Pierce addresses them.

“Can I help the four of you?”

Akira shakes her head, quickly grabbing her brother’s arm, “No sir, we were just on our way out. Thank you, though.” She said as she pulled Arashi toward their cars while Dean nods to the two FBI agents as they pass him. Sam pushes him in front of him after the twins and nods to the Sheriff as he passes him. The man turns to watch the four go, quirking a brow quietly.

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It took about twenty minutes for the small group to reach town and park their vehicles in the nearest lot. Their next target for questioning is the young woman they’d heard about on the bridge, one of the deputies daughter, Amy. They soon spot her tacking up posters with Troy’s face on them under the caption ‘MISSING Troy Squire’, outside the Highland Movie Theater, the sign where the titles of the featured movies are usually displayed reads ‘EMERGENCY TOWN HALL MEETING, SUNDAY 8 PM, STAY SAFE OUT THERE.’

Crossing the street from the diner where they parked their cars, the four approach her, Dean clearing his throat to catch her attention.

“Excuse me.” He smiles warmly at her as she looks up, “You must be Amy.”

She gives the four adults a skeptical once over, raising a brow, “yeah…?”

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Arashi said cheerfully, holding a hand out for her to shake, “Troy’s told us all about you. The four of us here are his aunt and uncles. I’m Arashi, this is Dean, Sammy,” Sam pursed his lips and looked irritably at Arashi, although he ignored him as he indicated Akira, “and Akira.”

Amy looks between the four of them, both eyebrows raised now, frowning deeply, “Troy’s never mentioned any of you before…” she told them quietly as she walks off down the street. Dean, Sam, Arashi, and Akira follow her, Dean chuckling softly, amused.

“Ah, that’s our Troy, isn’t it?” he nudged Arashi, who chuckled himself, nodding, while Sam and Akira exchanged exasperated looks, rolling their eyes, although they both forced a smile when Amy looked their way.

“Aren’t exactly around much, though,” Arashi shrugged, “The four of us do live up in Modesto.”

“Yeah, but when we heard Troy was missing, we came right here.” Akira said, frowning deeply, her brows furrowed with concern, mostly for Amy’s benefit.

“Yeah, we’ve been asking around a little…” Sam sighed himself, putting a hand on Akira’s shoulder to ‘comfort’ her. “But so far, we haven’t really found anything…”

Another young woman crosses the street to their side, putting a hand on Amy’s arm as she stops, giving her a small smile.

“Hey Amy…you doing okay?” she cocked her head, frowning while Amy nodded. “Yeah…”

“Would the two of you mind answering some questions for us?” Sam asked in a gentle voice, smiling kindlt at the two girls as they looked up at him, frowning while the wind disturbs one of Amy’s missing posters nearby. They look at one another, then nod, motioning for the four to follow them as they cross to the diner. They seat themselves in a large corner booth while the waitress brings them water. Akira gently encourages Amy to tell them what happened the night Troy disappears. She lets out a shaky sigh, holding her water in her hands and staring intently for a few heartbeats with a frown.

“Troy and I were on the phone on his drive home….then something must’ve happened, because he said he had to hang up…” she frowned to herself, furrowing her brows thoughtfully, “I didn’t think much of it, since he’d promised he’s call me back, but….I never heard from him…”

“Did Troy say anything strange or out of the ordinary before he hung up?” Sam asked her gently; Amy shook her head, glancing up thoughtfully, “No…nothing that I remember, anyway…”

Akira suddenly notices Amy’s necklace, a beautiful silver pentagram drawn in a circle and she smiles, “That’s a beautiful necklace you’ve got there.” She told her gently, pointing to it. Amy touches it and looks down, smiling faintly.

“Thank you…Troy gave it to me a while back. Thought it’d be funny to try and scare my parents,” she gave a small laugh, “with devil stuff like this…”

Sam and Akira both chuckle together while Arashi and Dean look between then, quirking their brows; Akira leans her forearms on the table, smiling kindly at Amy.

“A pentagram isn’t really evil or bad, quite the opposite, actually…it’s really a powerful charm meant to protect you from evil.” Amy quirks a brow curiously at Akira, who realizes she’s rambling and making a fool of herself and laughs faintly now, “Well…that’s what I’ve heard from people who believe in that kind of thing, anyway…”

“Thanks Ghostbuster Akira.” Arashi said, patting his sister’s arm while she swatted playfully at him and Dean leans over the table himself, regarding Amy and her friend, Rachel seriously.

“Look ladies, here’s the deal…the way Troy’s just disappeared like this…it isn’t exactly natural. So please, just tell us if either of you has heard anything…”

The girls exchange a look, frowning together, while the four adults look at them. Arashi leans closer, “So there is something…?” he asked, looking between them. Rachel pulls her bottom lip between her teeth before she looks at the twins, then Sam and Dean.

“There is…but, well…you know, with all these guys disappearing, people are going to talk…”

“What do they talk about?” the four hunters ask together, leaning forward eagerly to hear what the girl wanted to say. Rachel chews her lip once more as Amy looks between them with an amused tweak to her lips.

“Well, it’s kinda the local legend around here, about this one woman that got murdered out on Centennial. But that was decades ago…”

“And…the people around here believe she’s still out there, right?” Akira asked, raising her eyebrows curiously while Rachel nods her head in agreement while Dean and Arashi exchange contemplative looks and Sam is watching Rachel attentively.

“Yeah, the woman hitchhikers around that area still and asks for rides from passing drivers. Anyone who gives her a lift supposedly just disappears…”

Sam, Dean, Akira, and Arashi look at one another thoughtfully and nod together.

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After speaking with the two girls, the team immediately headed to the library to look up old articles from the Jericho Herald. Dean sits at the monitor with Sam, Akira, and Arashi gathered around him and types in Female Murder Hitchhiking into the search box, but no results come back. Arashi suggest replacing Hitchhiking with Centennial Highway; it’s the same result. Sam and Akira look at one another, sighing.

“Maybe we should –“ Akira starts, reaching for the keyboard, only for Dean to smack her hands away.

“I can handle it.” He told her, earning a glare from Akira as she gave his rolling chair a hard shove and quickly took his place in front of the screen. “Hey! I said I had it.”

“Yeah yeah…” Akira mutters, frowning at the page for a moment as Sam settles himself beside her, clicking his tongue.

“Aki and I think we’re looking up the wrong thing…angry spirits are usually born from a violet death, right?” he said, looking at Dean and Arashi, who both nod, frowning.

“You think it wasn’t murder then?” Arashi quirked a brow while Akira replaces ‘murder’ with ‘suicide’ and clicks the ‘GO’ button. An article entitled Suicide on Centennial appears on the page. She clicks on it while the three men exchange looks and she reads out the date April 25th, 1981 before reading the following:

-Local woman’s drowning ruled as a suicide by county Sheriff’s Department earlier today. Twenty-four year old Constance Welch of 4636 Breckenridge Road leapt to her death on mile 33 Centennial Highway’s Sylvania Bridge late last night, drowning in the river.

-Reported by Deputy J. Pierce to reporters, just hours before her death, Mr. Welch logged a call with 911 emergency services, describing in a panicked voice how she found her two young children, 5 and 6, drowned in the bathtub. She reported only leaving for several minutes to attend to something else in the house, describing their complex –

-‘It was a terrible accident that took our children, but it must all have been too much for my wife. Our babies were gone and it was obvious Constance couldn’t bear it,” Joseph Welch, Constance’s husband, explains, “Now, I respectfully ask all of you to allow me privacy during this tragic time…’

-At the time of the children’s passing and Ms. Welch’s resulting suicide, Mr. Welch was working the graveyard shift at Frontier auto salvage yard, where he is an associate manager.

-‘Connie was a quiet woman, but she was also the kindest girl I’ve ever known,’ The Welch’s neighbor, Deanna Kripke, tells reporters. ‘She absolutely adored those children of hers’ and doted on them every day.’

“Looks like we found our ghost, then…” Arashi muttered, leaning over his sister’s shoulder.

Akira scrolls further down, finding a picture of Constance staring back at her.

“So this woman drowned herself because her kids drowned in the bathtub at home?” Dean frowned deeply, cocking his head, “Hm…sounds a bit ironic, doesn’t it…?”

“Could also be poetic…” Arashi points out, shrugging as Dean and Sam stare at him, “What, it could be…”

Akira ignores them as she scrolls further and finds a picture of Joseph alongside a picture of Sylvania Bridge…the bridge they’d just been at not even an hour before.

“Hey guys,” she glances back at the three men, raising a brow, “This bridge look familiar?”

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The team is back out on Sylvania Bridge later on that day, after the sun has set behind the mountains. They walk the length of the bridge, each of them carrying their own flashlight as they assesstheir surroundings carefully. They stop briefly upon reaching the middle of the bridge and move to lean over the railing so they can look down on the river below.

“Hm, so this is where Constance did the swan dive, huh?” Arashi hummed, eyeing the water below with his head cocked. Sam looked around curiously as Akira turns to regard Dean.

“You really think Uncle John came here?” she asked as they pushed off the railing and continued along the bridge. Dean shrugged.

“Why not, he’s been chasing this story longer than we have and now we’re chasing him.” He hummed while Sam and Arashi followed after their siblings. Sam frowned then, pursing his lips.

“So what’re we supposed to do now then?” he asked Dean, who glances back with a quirked brow, “Keep digging until we find him, that’s what. It’ll take us a while, but –“

“We’re only going to be able to stay until tomorrow, though, Dean.” Akira reminded him, frowning herself, “Remember, Sam has to be back by Monday –“

Dean stops and turns to look back at Sam, who’s stopped a few feet back himself. The older Winchester gives a small smile.

“Right, Sammy’s interview, I, uh…I forgot…” he sighed, rubbing his neck and furrowing his brows while Arashi glanced at Akira, quirking a brow.

“I can get why Monday would be a big deal for Sam, but what about you, Akira? You got some big thing coming up with school, too?”

Akira gave a small smile, shaking her head, “Not exactly, I just know how important that interview is and how much it means to Sam. I’m already all set at school, I just don’t want to miss any classes, or too much time at work, that’s all.”

“What was it you wanted to go to school for, again?” Dean asked her, raising his own eyebrows. She met his gaze seriously, crossing her arms, “I want to be a nurse and help people.”

“Rrrright.” Dean smirks, then looks seriously between Sam and Akira, “You two are really serious about this stuff, aren’t you?” he asked skeptically, earning nods in reply. Arashi crossed his arms, humming, “Didn’t peg either of you for picking the boring life, though, I mean, a lawyer and nurse, honestly?”

“They can be exciting jobs.” Akira countered, crossing her own arms as she eyed her twin, “They’re respectable, too, we’ll have money to support our families in the future….”

“Right, cuz you’ve both got someone you’re aiming to settle down with.” Dean sighed, frowning at them; Sam mimicked him, furrowing his brows deeply.

“There’s nothing wrong with settling down, Dean….”

“Not unless you keep secrets from your partners.” Dean pointed out, looking between Akira and Sam, “Did either of you even tell Jessica or anyone else about your pasts, the things either of you has done.”

“No, because they don’t need to know.” Akira told Dean hotly, glaring at him while he gave a hallow laugh.

“Healthy choice, locking all that up and pretending it never happened. You know, sooner or later the two of you are just going to have to accept who you are.”

Dean turns away from them and resumes walking while Akira and Sam look at one another, frowning, before Sam hurries after Dean and Akira turns to her brother.

“What exactly does that mean?” she asked, earning a sigh in return as Arashi shook his head, “Dean still thinks that since all four of us grew up the way we did, you and Sam are still like us, no matter how much either of you try to change it.”

Akira gave her brother an exasperated look, but Arashi holds up a hand before she can say anything, “I know the two of you don’t want to be hunters, you want to leave that part of your lives in the past, but it’s still a part of who either of you are. Growing up like we did, all the stuff dad and Uncle John taught us, it can’t ever truly go away, you know…can’t ever really be forgotten…just don’t try and push it down, Akira, no matter what path you take, because, you know…one way or another…it is going to come back to bite you…”

The twins stared at one another for a long moment without breaking eye contact as the young man’s words sank in until his sister released a slow sigh. Her eyes drop to the wood beneath their feet as she purses her lips thoughtfully before she looked up once more, opening her mouth to speak when something behind her brother caught her attention. She looked past him and tensed when she spotted the beautiful woman standing on the bridge railing, the wind playing with her long, wavy midnight hair and her tattered white dress. Arashi frowned, noticing her distraction and quickly turned to find what she was looking at, his eyes widening when he spotted the woman standing before them.

“Oh shit…” he whispered, moving alongside his sister as she opened her mouth to call for Sam and Dean, only to freeze when Constance turns her head to look mournfully in their direction. The twins freeze, the hairs on the back of their necks standing on end as they make eye contact with the woman before she takes a step forward and disappears over the edge. Akira and Arashi rush to the railing, looking down into the river as more footsteps echo behind them and they’re soon joined by the Winchester brothers.

“Where’d she go?” dean asked, quickly scanning the water below. Sam, Arashi, and Akira all shake their heads, unable to answer themselves as an engine roars to life behind them and lights flood over them. The four whirl around to look, spotting the Impala idling on the road at one end of the bridge.

“If all of us are here….who the hell’s driving the Impala?” Arashi whispered, looking at Dean with big eyes; Dean reaches into the pocket of his jacket and pulls his keys out, jingling them. Sam and Akira both glance at the keys, then their eyes snap back toward the vehicle as it jerks into motion and races the length of the brige toward them. Dean grabs Arashi and pushes him in front of him and they start running as fast as they possibly can. The car isn’t far behind, however and it isn’t long before they can practically feel the front grill on the back of their legs. Sam grabs Akira and pulls her off to one side of the bridge as Arashi pulls Dean to the other side and the four jump the railings. The car skids to a halt as it loses them and suddenly goes silent.

Labored breathing fills the quiet night as Sam and Akira try to catch their breath while they hang from the edge of the bridge, each breath hanging in the air in front of them in thick wafts of steam. Sam adjusts his grip on Akira as he holds her tight to his chest, glancing quickly up at the silent vehicle on the bridge just feet away while she clutches tight to his shoulders, scanning the area with big eyes as her legs were wrapped around one of his. He quickly adjusts his hand on the bridge, squeezing her shoulder to let her know it was safe, making her look up. She unwinds one of her arms and grabs onto the railing, making double sure she had a good grip before she released Sam so he could grab on himself and they could haul themselves back onto the bridge, crossing to where their brothers had jumped themselves.

“Dean/Arashi!”

They scan the dark bank below when they don’t see either man hanging from the bridge like they’d been, their hearts racing in their chests frightfully. Something moved in the shadows below, water rushing and splashing against the riverbank as a couple of figures crawl out onto land, panting; both of them are covered in muck from head to foot, their hair plastered down to their heads and clothes heavy with water. Both men look up at the sound of their names, Dean glowering in annoyance as Arashi shakes his head to get the hair out of his face. Dean gives the two an A-Ok sign to let them know they were okay as Arashi waved a hand himself. Sam and Akira both smile in relief at seeing their brothers were in one piece, looking at one another and laughing faintly in amusement.

Ten minutes later, after they’d managed to get Dean and Arashi back up on the bridge, Dean’s under the hood of his car, giving it a once more to be sure nothing was disturbed as Sam leans against the passenger side of the car. Arashi is trying to duck out from under Akira’s fingers as she’s attempting to clean his face off with her handkerchief, playfully growling as she finally grabs him by the nape of the neck and holds him still so she can clean him up. She finishes just as Dean shuts the hood of his car, leaning his hands on the hood. Sam asks him how the vehicle’s doing.

“Baby should be fine,” Dean sighed in relief, “Thankfully whatever she did, it’s worn off with her disappearing. Christ, this Constance chick is such a bitch!”

“Obviously she doesn’t want us digging around, then.” Akira sighed, folding her handkerchief up and returning it to her pocket before she crossed her arms as did Sam as he looked between Dean and Arashi.

“So…where do you two geniuses suggest we go from here?”

Dean sighs as he sits on the hood of the Impala, throwing his arms up in the air in frustration as Arashi clucks his tongue thoughtfully, crossing his own arms as he glances up at the velvet sky overhead. A cold breath of wind blows its way through then, making both men shiver as their siblings wrinkle their noses, eyeing both of them.

“You two smell like a couple of public toilets…” Akira told them, covering her nos; both blink a little in surprise, look at each other, then down at their own dirtied appearance. Sam shook his head a bit, smiling at his best friend.

“Well…I don’t think we’ll be able to find anything else here,” he looked up toward the sky himself as the horizon was beginning to turn a bright pink and orange with the coming sunrise. “We should head back into town for a bit of rest, get the chance to clean ourselves up. You two really need it.” He gestured to Dean and Arashi, the later of whom grinned.

“Could use a hot shower.” He shrugged, “C’mon, let’s head back into town. Find a motel.”

Dean nodded his head in agreement as he slid off the hood of the Impala and walked around to the driver’s side as Arashi got in the passenger. Sam and Akira head down the bridge to the van and follow their brothers back toward town.

The sun had climbed past the eastern mountains by the time the group pulled into the parking lot of a local motel in town and parked outside the front office. Dean leads the way inside to the front desk, where the clerk is reclined in his chair, reading a book while the handwritten guest ledger sits open on the counter. He sets his VersaBank MasterCard down on top of the ledger.

“A couple of adjoining rooms, please.” Dean said with a smile at the clerk, who looked up and quirked a brow at his filthy, muddied state before eyeing Arashi as he’s standing behind him. Sam and Akira lean against the wall just outside the door, watching the rest of the town waking up around them. Shrugging, the clerk picks up the card and looks at it, his brow quirking once more.

“Some kind of reunion going on or something?” he asked, looking up at Dean once more. Arashi looks up at the man, blinking, as Sam and Akira peek in the door, frowning.

“What’d you mean?” Sam asked, cocking his head curiously. The clerk hummed as he started to sign the four into a couple of rooms, “Just that another guy a while back, Burt Aframian, checked in here, rented a room for the month. Haven’t seen hide or hair of him as of late, though.”

Dean looked back at Arashi, Sam, and Akira as they exchange looks, blinking. Arashi then clears his throat, moving forward to the desk and stopping the clerk as he’s about to swipe the card.

“You know, actually, Burt’s our father, we just came up here to meet him for a little family vacation.” Arashi said smoothly. “Is there an adjoining room next to his we could rent?”

The man blinked and nodded, “Yeah, we have an empty adjoining room just next door. Just that room then?” Arashi and Dean nod together and watch him type something into the computer on the desk before he swiped Dean’s card, indicating for him to sign the ledger. Arashi takes the key for John Winchester’s room and the room next door with a nod before leading the way out of the front office and making a beeline straight for the two rooms. Sam follows after him as Dean and Akira move the cars across the lot. The two men wait outside the rooms for their siblings before letting themselves into John’s room.

Inside, every single wall is covered in papers, maps, newspaper clippings and pictures with notes tacked onto them. The desk and table are cluttered with files, books, and more papers while junk is littered across the floor and one of the beds. Arashi hesitantly picks up the strange item on the covers, the bridge of his nose wrinkling at the sight of the hazardous-materials symbol printed on the side. Akira whistled lowly, impressed, as she turns on one of the lamps.

“You dad’s really good…” she said to Sam as Dean turns on the lamp on the bedside table and picks up a half-eaten hamburger resting at the base, sniffing it and then recoiling, his face scrunching in disgust.

“Doesn’t look like dad’s been here in a few days…” Dean mumbled as he dropped the burger into the trash, wiping his fingers on his muddy shirt as Sam suddenly noticed a line of salt on the floor and bent to examine it before looking up at his brother while Akira examined John’s work.

“Dad’s set up some protection…salt, cats-eye shells….” Sam said with a frown as he got back to his feet, “Something spooked him…he wanted to keep something from getting in…”

“He probably figured out what we’re dealing with here…” Arashi said, joining his sister as she’s reading some of the papers pinned up on the wall. Akira points out to Sam and Dean that their father has all the Centennial Highway Victims up here, in order from when they disappeared. The men depicted include Mark somebody, William Durrell, the 25-year-old man who disappeared in 1987 named Scott Nifong, and someone Parks. Judging by their pictures, it’s easy to tell that Mark, Durrell, and Nifong were white men. Akira purses her lips, narrowing her eyes as Arashi brushes his fingers over one of the men’s profiles.

“Doesn’t really make sense, does it…?” he voices aloud, looking between each of the victims, “None of these men had anything in common side from their gender…they were all completely different, no similar job, age, ethnicity…” Sam and Dean cross the room to join the twins, frowning together. “There just has to be another connection somewhere….what could these guys possibly have in common?”

Sam moves further along the hall to examine his father’s handiwork as Arashi talks, Akira following after him. Akira gently nudges Sam and points to some old worn pages torn out of history/mythology books, one displaying information on something about the Bell Witch alongside a picture of two people being burned alive; several scared people huddle together as they back away from a skeletal figure blowing a horn at them over a note reading ‘Mortis Danse’. A couple of columns are pinned up next to those, one entitled ‘Devils + Demons’ while the other reads ‘Sirens, Witches, the possessed’. After that is a wooden pentacle and a note reading ‘Woman in White’ taped to a printout of the Jericho Herald’s article on Constance’s Suicide.

Sam leans down to turn on a third lamp as Akira taps the article, “Your dad figured it out.”

Dean and Arashi look around at her words, moving closer for a better look and frowning together as Sam leans down to look himself.

“Looks like dad found the same article we did about Constance…he figured out she’s a woman in white.”

Arashi leans in for a closer look at Constance’s article as Dean grins slowly in amusement, crossing his arms as he looks between each of the victims.

“Those sly dogs.” He snickered as he turned to Sam and Akira.

“All right, so now we know we’re dealing with a woman in white.” He hummed, frowning thoughtfully, “But if dad had figured that out, he would have found her body and burned it…”

“She could have been cremated….” Akira pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest, “But likely there’s something still keeping her here other than that…”

“Uncle John wouldn’t leave a stone unturned…” Arashi mumbled, rubbing his chin as Dean crosses to join their siblings, “Would have wanted to be sure…maybe he went looking for Constance’s husband to figure out where she was.”

Arashi pointed to the picture of Joseph Welch, the caption saying he was thirty back in 1981.

“He’d be about sixty-four about now.” Akira pointed out, “If he’s still alive, that is.”

Sam leaves Akira’s side to check out more of his father’s handiwork as Dean examines the picture tacked up below the Herald article of a woman in a white dress.

“All right….” He hummed thoughtfully, straightening himself as Arashi sighs, crossing to the door leading to the adjoining room next door. “So, uh…why don’t the two of you work on finding that address while Arashi and I get ourselves cleaned up, huh?”

Dean turns to head toward the bathroom as Arashi disappears from view into the next room. Sam turns to face his brother. Akira excuses herself to get their things from the car so they can get started on their research, leaving the two to their moment.

About a half hour later, with Jospeh’s address in their possession, Akira leaves the room once more as Sam listens to a message Jessica left for him on his cell. She climbs into the back and glances around quickly to be sure no one is watching her before sliding the side door closed once more so she can kneel by the tool box and look inside to be sure they have everything they’ll need to take care of Constance.

Taking the key from around her neck, Akira unlocked the secret compartment in the bottom of the box and pulled out a rifle with half a dozen bullets filled with rock salt. She opened the rifle and loaded it with the bullets before clicking the barrel back into place and setting the gun aside to load a second one for back-up. She bumped a few things around inside the box and her adopted father’s journal fell onto the carpet; her fingers stilled as her eyes fell on the leather bound book and a frown marred her features as she set the weapon aside and picked up the journal instead. Akira settled quietly back into the wall, absent-mindedly flipping through the pages as she thought about that entry from before.

What was her life coming to right now…? Why was she out on a hunting trip with the three men she’d grown up with all her life when she’d sworn she’d never go again? Why was she here…? What could she possibly accomplish chasing after ghosts and fairies like she’d been doing when she was fifteen? John Winchester had always been like an uncle to her and her brother, and family mattered to the twins more than anything else in the world…and yet…everything that they had known, the people she and her brother had grown up with….they’d lied….Bobby Singer wasn’t their real father…he’d just taken them in at his best friend’s request and raised them without giving them a clue as to who they were or where they had come from….although, if she was being fair, Bobby hadn’t seemed to know a whole lot on the subject himself and yet he had still taken the twins in and cared for them as if they were his own. John was the only one who knew anything about where either of them came from and who their real parents were….and yet he was still nowhere to be found in this place…he’d been here, yet disappeared without a clue as to where he went. Some would think he’d ben taken by Constance himself, but Akira knew better, she knew her uncle wasn’t stupid enough to get caught in a trap or be put under a ghost’s spell. He wouldn’t have been one of Constance’s victims.

If that were true, though, why was she here looking for him with her brother and John’s sons? Why had he just disappeared so suddenly without a trace? Did John need them to finish this mission for some reason? And if so…why?

Someone knocking against the sliding door jolted her out of her thoughts and Akira quickly stashed the journal away once more, looking up as Arashi informed her that he and Dean were heading out to get some food and asking if she wanted anything. She smiled faintly, returning her attention to her weapons.

“I’m okay, Ara, not really hungry.” She called back to him. Arashi makes a small noise of understanding.

“Just text me if you change your mind.” He tells her; Akira nods to herself and clicks a new round of rock salt bullets into the next gun as Arashi’s footsteps move away from the car. She can hear him speaking to someone outside, possibly Dean, his low baritone answering not seconds later. Their footsteps fade as she can hear them move across the lot, although they suddenly come to a stop and she can hear their hushed voices. Her phone buzzes not seconds later and she reaches into her jeans pocket to pull it out. It was a text from her brother.

5-0

Her heart sank into her stomach at the code and she immediately drops the weapons into the hatch, closing and locking it tight before closing the box and locking that as well. Then she dropped down behind the driver’s seat to hide, clutching her phone in her hand, listening to her brothers talking to the police officers just outside as they asked where she and Sam were. Dean tried to play dumb and Arashi lied through his teeth, trying to protect them, but even from here Akira could hear the sounds of footsteps quickly approaching their hotel rooms. She quickly forwards the code to Sam, feeling her heart racing in her throat, thrumming against her vocal cords as she hoped and prayed he would be able to escape without being noticed. She jumps as what sounds like a body is slammed into the hood of a car and her hand clutches tight to her phone until her knuckles turn white.

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Not too long after this, Arashi is seated alongside Dean at a small square table in the interrogation room in the Sheriff’s office downtown. Both of them are quiet, Dean sitting with his forearms resting on the cold metal tabletop while Arashi leans back in his chair, feet propped up on the table itself. The door swings open as Sheriff Pierce enters with a plastic white evidence box in hand, which he sets down on the table in front of them, pushing Arashi’s feet down and forcing him to sit up straight as he faces the two men.

“So, either of you willing to give us your real names yet?” he asked with a raised brow, looking expectantly between them. Dean looked at Arashi, who shrugged.

“We already told you, officer, it’s Nugent. Ted and Alec Nugent.”

Pierce shook his head with a half exasperated, half amused look on his face, “Neither of you realize just how much trouble you’re both in, do you?”

“Hm, well, there’s a varying degree, you know…” Arashi hummed, cocking his head slightly, “Not quite sure though if we’re dealing with a simple misdemeanor or a squealing like a pig trouble…”

“Well maybe this’ll clear your confusion up a bit.” Pierce pulled out the photos of the missing men and dropped them onto the table, “There were found on the walls of your room.”

Dean leans back in his chair as Arashi leans forward, feigning curiosity. Pierce watches them, taking more out of the box.

“Wasn’t just that, either, it was a whole bunch of Satanic mumbo-jumbo, too. The photo alone makes both of you suspects?”

Dean nods thoughtfully, “Hm, makes sense…although, I don’t know how a one or three-year-old would be able to do much when the first victim went missing back in ’82.”

“We already know both of you have partners.” Pierce told them, raising his eyebrows. “One of ‘em’s an older guy, right? Probably started the whole thing himself, got you two and the rest of your group in on it when you were old enough, didn’t he? Why don’t you just spill it, then, Dean…Arasha?”

A brown leather-covered journal is dropped onto the table, drawing both men’s attention.

“This his, is it?”

Arashi and Dean subtly exchange a look and eye the journal with interest while the sheriff sits himself on the edge of the table. He picks the journal up again, flipping through the newspaper clippings, notes, and pictures inside, ones similar to those that had been on the walls of John’s motel room.

“Thought those might have been your names, ‘specially after finding them while I leafed through this.” Pierce hummed thoughtfully. “ ‘Course, that was just one of the few things I could make out among all this…it’s all nine kinds of crazy.”

Dean and Arashi leans forward, just a little, for a closer look as Pierce stops at a single page where their names were written over 35-111 and circled. Pierce taps it, noticing the stony looks on both their faces.

“Now, the two of you’ll be stayin’ right here until both of you tell us exactly what the hell this means.”

Dean and Arashi both stare at what’s written on the page before slowly looking up at the sheriff.

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After managing to escape the police, Sam and Akira make a direct beeline for Joseph Welch’s home on the edge of town. It’s a shack of a house, plopped down in the middle of a dry patch of land with junk and scrap metal in the back yard. The windows are guarded by sheets of chain-link and the whole place looks a though it hasn’t been cleaned in twenty years. Akira fidgeted as she followed Sam toward the front door, where another window barred with chain-link greeted them, eyeing the filth on the house as Sam knocks on the door. Just a few minutes later, it opens, revealing an older man easily identified as Joseph Welch. Sam and Akira both gave him a smile.

“Hello. Are you Joseph Welch?”

He eyed the two of them curiously, cocking his head curiously before he nods, “Yes….yes I am. How may I help the two of you?”

“Hello sir, we have some questions we need to ask you, if you could spare a few moments of your time.” Akira said kindly as Sam reached into an inner pocket of his suit jacket, pulling out the picture he’d found in John’s motel room of the man himself, seated on the hood of the Impala with Sam and Dean when they were children. Sam shows Joseph the picture.

“We’re looking for the man In this picture, haven’t seen him in a little while.” He told the other man as he took the picture. “Have you?”

Joseph nodded his head after a minute, handing Sam back the photo.

“Yeah, saw him about three or four days ago, looked a bit older, but that’s definitely him.” He said, looking between Sam and Akira, “He told me he was a reporter.”

“Yes, he’s one of our partners.” Akira said with a nod. “The three of us are working on a story together.”

Joseph raised an eyebrow, curious, “Hm, don’t think I’ve ever heard of any kind of story like the one he was asking about…”

“He was asking about your wife Constance, right?” Sam asked, frowning as Joseph nodded his head once more, “Yeah…he was asking about where she was buried…what happened…”

“Could you just reiterate that for us?” Akira offered an apologetic smile as she pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, “I know it’s hard talking about something like this, but I’m afraid our partner’s a bit of a scatter-brain, he misplaces papers all the time…”

Joseph frowned quietly, furrowing his brows deeply as he eyed Sam and Akira, unsure, while they give him small smiles. He finally sighs, “I buried her and the kids in a plot just behind my old place over on Breckenridge….”

“Why’d you decide to move?” Sam asked, frowning himself; Joseph glanced down, pursing his lips tightly, brows furrowed in pain.

“I couldn’t stand living in the house where my children died….” He told them in a strained voice, gulping thickly as his eyes sparkled with tears. Sam and Akira both frown together, looking at one another before giving Joseph empathetic looks.

  
“Mr. Welch…did you ever think to get married again?”

Joseph shook his head and wet his lips as he looked up, clearing his throat, “No, couldn’t fathom the idea after I lost Constance….she was the love of my life. Prettiest woman I’d ever known.”

“So the two of you had a happy marriage?” Akira asked with a kind smile; Joseph avoids her eye and her smile slips as she notices him chew the inside of his cheek, “Yes…yes we did…”

Sam nodded his head, “Hm, well…that should about cover it.” He turned to Akira, “We should be getting back to write this up, our publisher will want this by tomorrow morning. Thank you for your time, Mr. Welch.” He nodded to the man and ushered Akira ahead of him. She nods politely to Joseph and steps down off the porch, feigning like she was heading back for her van. She stopped, however, as Joseph turns to head back into his home.

“Oh, Mr. Welch,” Akira turns back to face him as Sam stops beside her, looking back as though he’s unaware of what she’s about to say. “Just one more question. Have you ever heard of a woman in white?”

Joseph stops and looks back around his door, quirking a brow at Akira, “A what?”

Akira turns fully, “A woman in white, sometimes referred to as a weeping woman.” Josph stares at her as though she’s speaking another language. Akira shrugs, “It’s a ghost story...a phenomenon some would say….”

She shifts her weight from one food to the other as Sam nods his head slowly, “Hm…they’re supposed to be spirits…been around for hundreds of years, seen in dozens of places: Hawaii, Mexico, some in Arizona, Indiana. They’re all different women.”

“They do have one thing in common, though.” Akira pointed out, crossing her arms as she watches Joseph’s reaction. “Share the same story…”

Joseph frowned deeply, wrinkling his nose distastefully. “I don’t care much for nonsense.” He told them, readying to close the door again.

“Their husbands were unfaithful.” Akira told him quickly, making Joseph freeze. “Unfortunately, something like that can cause temporary insanity in these women, make them do things they regret…like murder their own children.”

Joseph turns slightly to look up at Akira and Sam, gripping the door tightly in his hand.

“The guilt these women feel afterward is…indescribable…” Akira sighed, gauging the man’s reaction. “Leads them to commit suicide themselves. They curse themselves so they’re forced to have to walk back roads or waterways for eternity. And, should they come across any unfaithful men…they kill them…make it so they’re never seen again.”

Joseph stares incredulously at Akira, his face contorting, his jaw set, teeth grit and eyes hard, “You think…something like that could be Constance? You little –“

He moved toward her, but Sam holds a hand out to stop him, “Just an observation, sir….but, if you think it might…”

Joseph frowned at Sam, then glanced away, almost guiltily, “Look, I…I made some mistakes…but I know, I know that no matter what I did, Constance wouldn’t have ever laid a hand on her children.” He set his jaw again, glancing up at the two with blazing eyes, “Now get the hell off my property, both of you and don’t you ever come back!”

Joseph whirls away from them, slamming the door closed behind him. Sam and Akira look at one another and sigh as they return to the van.

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Night is falling outside the window as Dean and Arashi are still being interrogated inside the Sheriff’s office. The sheriff wants to know the deal with the journal entry John left behind for them, not buying Dean’s story about it being his high school locker combo. Pierce sighs, leaning in toward Dean, exasperated.

“We gonna do this run around all night?”

Arashi smirks and opens his mouth to say something when a knock comes on the interrogation door and one of the deputies leans in.

“Just got in a 911 call. Gunfire over on Whiteford Road.”

Pierce glances up at the deputy and frowns before turning his attention back to Dean and Arashi.

“Either of you have to go to the bathroom?” They both shook their heads, “Good.” He takes out a pair of handcuffs, hooks one to Dean’s wrist, loops it around one of the table legs, and then puts the other cuff around Arashi’s wrist. Both of them sit back in her chair as Pierce leaves while Arashi glances down at the journal left sitting on the table. He cocks his head, spotting a paper clip poking out from between a couple of the pages and points it out to Dean. Dean, being closer, leans over to grab the paper clip and pull it out.

A few minutes later, after getting free from the cuffs, the duo peers out through the little window in the door, watching the sheriff and deputy gear up to leave. They duck out of sight as the deputy approaches and hurry across the room to the fire escape, where they make a quick getaway with John’s journal in hand and head for the nearest phone booth to call their siblings.

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Sam is driving down the highway in Akira’s van by the time he gets the call from Dean; he pulls out his cell phone and accepts the hall from the unknown number, knowing it had to be one of his brothers, who likely hadn’t had the forethought to try and get their cell phones back before they’d escaped.

“Putting in a fake 911 call? Bit illegal, don’t you think, Aki, Sammy?” Dean tells him in a half amused, half serious voice; a smirk works it’s way across Sam’s lips and he chuckles.

“You’re both welcome, by the way. And I’ll be sure to tell Akira you said thanks, too.”

“She’s not with you?” Dean asked, worried, drawing a worried look from Arashi, his eyebrows raising, but Dean waves that off as Sam reassures them that Akira is fine, just stashed somewhere safe. “That isn’t important right now, though….listen, Sam, we’ve got to talk.”

“You’re telling me,” Sam sighed, shifting the phone between his shoulder and ear as he frowns at the dark, empty road ahead, “Aki and I found out that Joseph was unfaithful, which means we are dealing with a woman in white. He told us that Constance was buried out behind her old house, so that should be where dad stopped next.”

“Sammy, stop for a second, will you just listen?” Dean said quickly, trying to grab his brother’s attention, although Sam didn’t quite seem to notice, too wrapped up in his own thoughts at the moment. “One thing I can’t understand though is why dad hasn’t already tried to destroy the corpse…”

“That’s what I need to tell you!” Dean said hastily, “Dad’s not here, he left Jericho.”

Sam pulled up short, furrowing his brows in confusion, “What? What would make you say that…?”

“We’ve got his journal.”

Sam’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “Dad never goes anywhere without that thing.”

“Yeah, well…it looks like he did this time.”

“What’s it say…?” Sam asked hesitantly, frowning to himself. Dean sighed, shaking his head as Arashi is leafing through the journal to find any other clues that could be useful.

“It’s mostly the same old ex-Marine crap…giving us codes to tell us a location he wants us to go to or where he’s going to be…”

“He wrote down coordinates…? Do we know where to?”

“No, not yet…” Dean sighed, running a hand through his hair as Sam grit his teeth thoughtfully, “I don’t understand, I mean, dad never stops a job until it’s finished, he doesn’t just drop it and leave….what could be so important that –“

Something in the middle of the road catches Sam’s attention and he hurriedly slams on the brakes, dropping his phone in the process. The van flies through Constance, causing her to disappear for a moment as it comes to a screeching halt. Dean frowns at the noise, a sinking feeling in his chest as he calls for his brother. Sam is clutching tight to the steering wheel, his heart hammering in his chest as he pants, like he’d just been out running while Constance sits in the passenger seat beside him, looking at him mournfully, seductively.

“Take me home.” She tells him as he stares at her, wide-eyed for a moment. She repeats the request, but Sam set his jaw, shaking his head. She glares and there’s an audible click as the van locks itself down, trapping Sam inside; while he struggles to free himself, Constance controls the car, pressing down on the gas pedal so the car continues down the road, driving in the direction she wishes to go, despite Sam’s effort to regain control and unlock the car. Constance flickers in the front seat, staring mournfully out through the windshield.

The road ahead of them stretches off into the darkness beyond their headlines, trees looming up on either side like big, hulking shadows, the leaves dancing in the breeze. They take a side road on the right, the headlines shining off a street sign that reads Breckenridge Road and follow it until they reach an old, abandoned house. Many of the windows are broken and the screen door is in tatters while the pain peels off the outer walls and tiles are missing from the roof. The yard was overgrown, garden overrun with weeds.

The car stops just before the house and parks before the lights and engine are cut off. Constance stares sadly up at the house, still flickering in the front seat as Sam watches her out of the corner of his eye.

“Please Constance, don’t do this…” he whispered to her; she doesn’t turn to acknowledge him, just keeps staring at the abandoned house before them.

“I can never go home…” she said sadly. Sam frowns at her, “You’re scared to…”

This seems to resonate with Constance as she slowly turns to face Sam now, staring at him with big black eyes before she moves into his lap, straddling him and pushing him, hard, into his seat, causing it to recline. He struggles against her hold as she asks him to hold her. He shakes his head.

“No, you can’t kill me, Constance, I’m not an unfaithful person, I’ve never been!”

“Tonight you will be.” She whispers in a soft, compelling voice, “Just hold me.”

Constance leans down and captures Sam’s lips in a hard kiss while he continues to struggle to get away, reaching for the keys. She breaks the kiss and pulls back, flickering again as her skin suddenly pales and decays before his eyes, her left cheek missing, showing him her teeth as her hair sticks to her flesh; she suddenly vanishes and Sam glances around hurriedly to find out where she was, only to yell out in pain and pull his hoodie open, revealing five holes burned through the fabric in a pattern matching the ghost’s fingers. She flickers before him again, hand digging into his chest, making him cry out again.

A gun clicked in the backseat and several shots went off at once, both driver and passenger side windows shattering while Constance disappears once more. Sam sits upright, looking through the broken windows as Dean and Arashi are approaching from either side, each with a gunshot in hand while Akira is crouched in the backseat with her own gun. Sam hurriedly starts the van again and shoves it into drive.

“I’m taking you home, Constance!” he said, slamming down on the gas pedal. Akira grabs onto the passenger seat to keep herself upright while Dean and Arashi stare after the van as it crashes through the side of the house. Both men hurry through the wreckage to reach the van as Akira slides the side door open and stumbles out with Sam behind her, looking up as their brothers reach them, asking if they were okay. They nod together, giving reassuring smiles before they turn to find their ghost.

Constance stands by a flight of stairs, holding a large framed photo in her hand and staring sadly at it with deep, mournful eyes, her bottom lip trembling. She finally looked up after a moment, her eyes hardening as she glared at them and threw the picture aside. A bureau standing against the wall slides across the room, pinning Sam and Arashi to the side of the van as Dean and Akira jump into the back to avoid it, hurriedly readying their guns once more. The lights in the house suddenly flicker and the sound of a running faucet can be heard while water pours down the staircase. She turns slowly, looking up at the top of the staircase; two children stand at the top holding hands, staring down at her as they speak in chorus.

“You came home, Mommy.”

Constance’s face screws up in pain and guilt; she whirls to face away from them, but then they’re in front of her again and they embrace her tightly. She screams in agony as she flickers and then brightens into a blinding beam of light until she and her children melt into a dark puddle on the floor. Dean and Akira help their brothers push the bureau over so they can free themselves and the four slowly approach where the trio had vanished.

“Huh…so this is where she drowned her kids…” Arashi sighed in disbelief, running his fingers through his hair while Sam and Akira nod.

“They were the reason why she couldn’t go home….” Akira said, “She was too scared to try and face them.”

“Well, at least you both found her weak spot.” Dean said, nodding, impressed, as he slapped Sam in the chest, right where he’d been injured, “Good work, Sammy, Aki.”

Akira rubs Sam’s back as he laughs through the pain, shaking his head.

“Yeah…you both did pretty well, too….” He said, his voice strained, “Bit risky shooting Casper in the face, though, wasn’t it?”

“Hey, you had Akira there to do it, why couldn’t we?” Arashi asked as his sister pulled the van back out of the house. “Besides, we helped save you, remember?”

Sam smiled lightly, nodding, “Yeah….hey, think I could see dad’s journal, I can figure out where he wants us to go.”

Dean nodded and Arashi handed Sam the book, making him promise to tell them straight away when he figured out where they were headed. Sam nodded and climbed into the back of Akira’s van as she handed him a map to draw on while she followed the Impala back onto the highway. It doesn’t take him more than twenty minutes to figure out that John was headed for a place called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado. He calls Dean and Arashi to tell them.

“Hm, sounds like a charming place to go.” Dean said through the phone speakers, “How far is it?”

“Looks to be about six hundred miles.” Sam tells him, folding up the map. Arashi hums.

“Hm, well, if we were to haul ass, we’d probably be able to make that by morning.”

Sam and Akira glance at one another uneasily, frowning together and Akira clears her throat hesitantly, clenching the steering wheel tightly in her hands.

“Uh, guys…we can’t…” she told them in a strained voice, frowning through the windshield at the back window of the Impala, “We have to get home…”

Silence greets these words and both young adults can tell the men are exchanging looks themselves.

“Right…” Arashi finally sighs after a long pause, “We forgot about Sammy’s interview…”

“I gotta be in work in about nine hours, too….” Akira said softly, frowning guiltily to herself, “We got lives we want to live…”

“Yeah, whatever…” Dean grumbles, his disappointment clear in his disgruntled voice, “We’ll make sure the two of you get home…”

The call is disconnected and Sam takes his phone from the dash, sighing, as he looks quietly at Akira once more. The heavy, guilty feeling in both their stomachs persists all the way back to their apartment building, even though in the back of each of their minds they knew they had every right to this. John was Sam’s father, yes, but Sam had his own life to live and he wasn’t going to get swept back into the life of a hunter and throw his future away; neither would Akira. Yes, she wanted to know the truth behind her past, where she had come from, who her parents were, but not at the risk of losing all she had worked so hard to achieve. She had to think about her future first…besides, she knew Arashi wouldn’t likely give up the search himself and would tell her everything once he had figured it all out himself, even if it took him a while.

The four say goodbye just outside in the parking lot, the Impala pulled up alongside Akira’s van as Sam gives Dean the map and Akira returns Bobby’s journal to Arashi. He tugs it away and she gives him a small smile, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

“Call us when you find Uncle John, okay? And be sure to let me know what he tells you.” she told him, making him smile and chuckle as he nods while he pulls her into a hug.

“Trust me, sis, you’ll be the first to know.” He promises, pulling back to kiss her forehead. She squeezes his hand, looking up at her brother slowly, “I’m sorry I can’t come and hear it myself…but –“

Arashi holds up a hand, shaking his head, “You don’t need to explain yourself to me, Aki, I understand…you have a life here…and I couldn’t ask you to give it up, not even for this.” He rubs her cheek, looking into her eyes, “But I can promise that I’ll do my damnest to figure out the truth and tell you the second I get the chance, okay?”

Akira smiled faintly, nodding, “Thank you, Arashi…” she whispers, kissing his cheek gently. He smiled at her, nodding as he pulled away and climbed back into the Impala. Dean restarts the car and Arashi waves as they pull out of the parking lot, leaving Sam and Akira to watch them go. They sigh as the vehicle pulls out of sight, looking at one another warily as they gather together their bags and trudge upstairs. Sam, however, stops Akira outside her door.

“Hey,” he touches her arm, making her look up, blinking curiously as he looks worriedly at her, his brows furrowed deeply over the ridge of his nose, causing his forehead to wrinkle, “Are you gonna be okay after all that, Akira? I know you didn’t get the chance to talk to my dad….”

She offers a small smile, nodding, “I’ll be okay, Sam…really.” She touches his hand and squeezes it tightly as his face is still screwed up in concern, “Look…finding out about my real parents, where I came from is important, but if it was meant to be, I would already know…Arashi’s not going to give up the search easily, he’ll keep going until he knows the truth and he won’t leave me out of the loop for long. Right now, I need to focus on my present if I want to achieve my future. Everything will be sorted out sooner or later.”

Sam gives Akira an impressed, empathetic look as he nods slowly in understanding; her smile softened and she leaned up to kiss his cheek, “I’ll be okay, Sam.” She repeated, rubbing his arm, “You don’t need to worry about me, what you need to worry about now is your interview and your future with Jessica, okay? Now, you’d better get inside before she gets too worried.”

With a small smile and a nod, Sam kisses Akira’s forehead in turn, “I’ll talk to you in a few days, okay?”

She nodded, “You’d better or I’ll whoop your ass if I find out you’re keeping any good news from me.”

He chuckled and nodded as they let themselves into their individual apartments and closed the doors; Akira sighs deeply as she turns on the overhead light, brushing the bangs out of her eyes as she crosses to her bedroom so she can unpack, although she’s barely over the threshold when an uneasy feeling crawls up her spine. She slows to a stop and listens, ears perked, skin crawling as her stomach knots and twists unpleasantly, her instincts telling her something just was not right as silence crouches in around her. Her eyes almost immediately snap to the clock hung up on the wall behind her TV, the hands stuck at just a quarter after ten, making her heart sink into the pit of her stomach.

Akira doesn’t even think, she’s just back across the apartment and in the hall, her bags abandoned in the middle of her floor. She grabs at the door handle and jingles it, cursing when she found it locked as she started pounding on the door.

“Sam! Sam open the door!” she yells just as she hears him yell out in inside. She steps back and kicks the door with everything she has, an audible crack ringing throughout the hall as the door swings open and bangs into the wall within; everything inside looks normal, inviting, the kitchen cleaned and spotless with a plate of chocolate chip cookies set out on the table with a note, most likely for Sam, that reads ‘Miss you! Love you!’ alongside a National Geographic book. Akira ignores this and hurries across the apartment to the door leading into Sam and Jessica’s room as there’s a bright flash of light.

Skidding around the door frame, Akira quickly assessed the room, spotting Sam sitting at the end of his and Jessica’s bed as flaming bits of plaster fall on him from the ceiling, his mouth wide in shock as he stares at something overhead, transfixed. She looked up, heart freezing in her chest at the sight of Jessica pinned to the popcorn ceiling with a large, wide gash cut into her stomach while flames consume her.

Fighting the tears threatening to fill her eyes, Akira hurries to Sam’s side, grabbing his arm and hauling him up as he brings an arm up to shield his face, screaming for Jess.

“C’mon, Sam, we have to go!” Akira yelled, trying to pull Sam along with her while he struggled to find a way back to his girlfriend. Footsteps thunder across the wooden floor out in the main room and Dean and Arashi are suddenly in the doorway; Akira spots them, “Guys, help!”

The two men cross the room and Dean man-handles his brother out the door as Arashi hurries his sister out after them as the apartment is engulfed in flame.

The four make it outside safely as the building goes up in flames; the fire department and police arrive not too long afterward to take care of the blaze and keep onlookers from getting too close and putting themselves in danger. Akira moves her van to the back of the lot so she can sit with Sam to try and comfort him while Dean and Arashi stand nearby, watching the firefighters and police officers try to keep a handle on the situation. Sam is inconsolable at this point, too far gone to want to listen to his best friend’s advice as she tries to convince him to keep on the path he was currently leading as all he can think of now is getting revenge on the creature that had done this to Jessica. He tells Dean and Arashi he was back in the game, making the two of them exchange a look before nodding in understanding, knowing this was something that Sam had to do before they looked quizzically at Akira to see what her plan of action was. She sighed.

“Well…it’d be pretty lonely here without Sam or…Jess…and I can’t let you three knuckleheads go off and get yourselves killed…” she gave a small, weak smile, messing with her hair, “I’m in, too…”

Sam gets up, walking around the van to the passenger side, “If that’s settled, we should get going…we’ve got work to do…”

Dean, Arashi, and Akira all look at one another and nod together as Akira closes the back of her van and gets in the driver’s side. Dean and Arashi climb into the Impala and the group sets off for Colorado.

 


	3. Wendigo

Bright sunlight falls from a clear cyan sky, illuminating the graveyard tombstones stretching away in all directions as a cool breeze wafts it’s way through, disturbing the multi-colored canopies that continue to cling to the treetops. Birds flit here and there, piercing the quiet with their song.

Dressed in a black suit and a tie with a bouquet of various flowers in hand, Sam can be seen walking between the tombstones silently, the sunlight glinting off his messy, dark brown hair. He comes to a stop before one gravestone.  
  
‘Jessica Lee Moore. Beloved Daughter’ is what it reads, just above her date of birth to her date of death, January 24th 1984 – November 2nd 2005. A picture of Jessica is set into the stone just above her name, grinning at the camera while a white teddy and a wooden box holding a crucifix, a small American flag and three small candles stand at the base.

Sam stares at the gravestone for a moment before he looks between it and the flowers in his hand; his face can’t be seen from behind, but the way he shifts his weight between his feet, his shoulders tense as he holds the bouquet up as though trying to show them to someone only he can seen indicates he’s having a hard time just figuring out what to say in this situation. He finally gives a small, almost forced laugh.

“I know you always said roses were, uh…kind lame, but, you know, I thought….” He breaks off as he finds the picture on the gravestone before dropping his gaze, his shoulders shaking with barely concealed grief. Sam takes a step closer to the grave and kneels before it, shaking.

“God, Jess…” he croaks out in a broken voice, “I’m so sorry, I should have….I should have protected you better….at least told you the truth and….”

There’s an obvious quake in his shoulders, a barely concealed sob escaping into the air as he leans down to place the flowers before the crucifix. There’s an audible crack and crunch as an arm suddenly shoots out of the earth, grabbing onto Sam by the wrist with dirt matted fingers.

Akira jerks and shoots upright in her seat, staring around quickly with wide eyes. A hand lands on her shoulder and she jumps, grabbing at it with a grip that could break bones as Arashi hurriedly tried to calm her down, his other hand tightly gripping the wheel of her van.

“Woah woah woah, sis, it’s okay, it’s just me!” he said quickly, sighing in relief as she released him upon realizing there was no danger to be had while she leaned back into her seat, quickly rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Yeesh, calm down a little, Aki, someone might think you’re having a heart attack one of these days if you’re not careful. What the hell were you dreaming about that got you so riled up, anyway?”

Akira sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, glancing away from Arashi to gaze out the passenger side window, “Just visiting Jess…” she murmured, earning a frown from her brother, his brows furrowed a little in concern; it’d been a week since Jessica’s death, during which time the twins and Winchesters had been working together to try and find the thing that had killed her with no luck. When they finally decided to leave for Blackwater Ridge, Sam and Akira had insisted on a pit stop at the cemetery to say goodbye to Jessica. That had been two days ago.

“Were you in love with the girl, too, or what?” Arashi quirked a brow at her from the corner of his eye as she glared at him, frowning, “Thought Sammy was the only one having nightmares about her. He was gonna ask her to marry him, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah, he was…before that monster took her away…” Akira pursed her lips tightly, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, “But she was more than Sam’s girl, she was a great friend and confidant, an amazing woman.”

“So it was a threesome?” Arashi asked, yelping as Akira punched him, hard, in the arm, glaring, “I’m being serious, Ara. Jessica didn’t deserve something like this.” She sighed, hitting her head back against the head rest as she let her hand fall to her lap once more, “She was my friend, my best friend, just like Sam, she understood us. And don’t even,” she pointed at her brother as he looked ready to say something, just like the smartass he was, “We didn’t have a relationship like that. But, as for this dream….” She frowned and tapped the side of her index finger against her upper lip, “It wasn’t mine….hell I was hardly even a part of it, it felt more like I was…”

“Observing?” Arashi interjected, quirking a brow curiously as she nodded. “Yeah, kinda…I know it doesn’t make much sense, but –“

“Makes sense to me.” He told her with a gentle smile, “Remember, Aki, we aren’t exactly normal, are we? Over the past week we’ve been hearing other people’s thoughts, not to mention catching glimpses of memoriesand/or dreams. It would only make sense you would be able to see Sam’s, too, especially with how close the two of you are.”

Akira sighed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes, “Hm…you ever see any of Dean’s dreams then?”

Arashi quirked a brow once more, a mischievous smile crossing his lips, making his sister wrinkle her nose, getting the feeling she wouldn’t like it if he told her.

“All right, then…” she looked ahead at the road, the Impala just a couple yards ahead of them, leaning her chin in her hand as she watching the figure in the front seat talk, the passenger going over a map he was holding up against the dash. Akira frowned quietly to herself, glancing at the road sign they passed on their right, which read ‘Grand Junction, one mile.’ “Seems like our powers are strengthening…we need to figure out exactly what we have and learn how to control it. Having supernatural abilities could be an advantage.”

Arashi watched out of the corner of his eye as Akira reached into the back of the van to pull a notepad and pen from her bag as she wrote down what powers they knew they had so far. The young man smiled, bemused, as he watched her, shaking his head as he returned his attention to the road, knowing his sister like to be thorough with something like this. It could possibly help them in the long run, especially if they decided to try and hone their powers, which most definitely could be an advantage in their current line of work. They would just have to figure out the best way to train with these powers if they wanted to be able to use them effectively.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Not too long after this, the group finds themselves parked just outside the ranger station of Lost Creek Trail/National Forest, Colorado. They gather briefly outside the van to discuss their plan of action before heading inside the station to talk to the park rangers to figure out the lay of the land since this was the area around which John’s coordinates have lead them. Akira seems just as confused about this location as Sam, seeing as how they’re smack dab in the middle of an expansive, untouched forest.

She questions her uncle’s judgement on this whole thing the entire walk into the building and especially as she and Sam are standing before a large 3D map of the national forest. She and Sam eye the area labeled Blackwater Ridge silently, wondering what could possibly be out there for them to find while their brothers are checking out the décor of the place.

“It looks like the ridge is cut off by these canyons over here…” Sam indicated the canyons just to the west of the ridge before moving his fingers down into it, “And in the ridge itself, there’s rough terrain, dense forest, not to mention abandoned silver and gold mines everywhere.”

“Why would Uncle John want us to go there, then, if it’s so dangerous?” Akira frowned, pursing her lips and crossing her arms as she shifted her weight into one of her hips, “Most of the miners looking for gold or silver probably had a hard enough time just surviving trying to make themselves filthy rich, so how’re we going -?”

“Hey guys, check out the size of this bear.” Arashi interrupted, drawing Sam and Akira’s attention away from the map as they look over at the framed photo of a man standing proudly behind a large, hairy grizzly. They frown together and walk over to join Dean and Arashi.

“I’m surprised any of those miners could survive back then with how many grizzlies they have that make this place their home…” Sam frowned, crossing his own arms slowly as Akira nodded her head in agreement, “This definitely isn’t any kind of nature hike….”

Arashi cocks his head to the side, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as Akira purses her lips and narrows her eyes at the picture, both too focused on what was in front of them that they missed the sound of boots moving across the woods floor behind them. The ranger cleared his throat loudly, startling the four young adults as they whipped around to face him.

“None of you planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge are you?” he quirked a brow at the four young adults, who give him small smiles, shaking their heads together.

“No sir,” Sam chuckled softly, clearing his throat as Akira cocked her head, “We’re just here on an environmental study to help with our college majors at UC Boulder. Working on a midterm paper.”

Dean and Arashi both nodded in agreement, smiling together as Dean raised a fist, “Recycle, man.”

The ranger raises his eyebrows in disbelief as he looked between each of the young adults before he shook his head, “Bull.”

Each of them tenses and Sam exchanges an anxious look with Akira, wondering if they’d been discovered, although Dean and Arashi both remained calm, cocking their heads slightly with their hands folded in their pockets. The ranger smiles then, looking somewhat amused, yet a tad exasperated at the moment.

“You four are friends with that Haley girl, aren’t you?”

Akira blinks as Dean and Arashi consider this briefly, then smile together, “Oh yes, yes we are, Officer –“ they pause to read his name tag, “Wilkinson.”

The ranger shakes his head slightly, sighing, “Well, I will tell the four of you exactly what I told her. Her brother, Tommy, filled out a backcountry permit to go camping up at Blackwater Ridge until the twenty-fourth. If we have that and it’s still within the time he wrote on that form, that can’t exactly count as a missing persons’ report, can it?”

Dean and Arashi both shake their heads as Wilkinson smiles gently in understanding, “Well, tell her to stop worrying so much, I’m sure her brother is just fine.”

“We’ll be sure to tell her.” Arashi promised, smiling kindly as he nodded his head and Dean chuckled softly, smiling fondly, “Boy, Haley is quite the pistol, isn’t she?”

Wilkinson chuckled gently, shaking his head in bemusement, “Yeah, that’s putting it mildly.”

“Hm, actually, you know what might really help is if we were to show her a copy of that backcountry permit.” Arashi said persuasively, smiling greasily at the frown that turned down the corners of Wilkinson’s lips as he looked unsure, “You know, just so she can see the return date.”

Wilkinson eyed the young man thoughtfully as Arashi raises his brows convincingly.

Ten minutes later, the four leave the ranger’s station with a copy of the backcountry permit in hand; Dean is chuckling softly as he’s going over the paper while Arashi is humming bemusedly; Sam and Akira give their brothers a quirked brow, frowning together as they look between them.

“So, which of you’ll be trying for the hookup today?’ Akira raised both brows now, frowning at the two more…..flirtatious members of their group. Arashi cocked his head, looking at his twin as Dean quirked his own brows slightly, curious as to what she meant. Sam sighed.

“Look, the coordinates dad left us points to Blackwater Ridge, so why’re we taking this detour?” he asked, frowning deeply, “We need to find dad, not go off talking to some random girl.”

They stop beside the Impala and Akira’s van, turning to one another as Dean and Arashi are both still smiling. Arashi cocked his head at San now.

“It’d be better if we actually knew what we’re walking into, though.” He pointed out as he tossed Akira her keys while she climbed into the driver’s seat of the van, peering out at her best friend with a frown.

“Dean and Arashi are usually the ones that like to shoot first and ask questions later, since when are you on their bandwagon?” she asked, furrowing her brows in concern as Sam turns away from her and opens the passenger side door of the Impala. “Since now.” He tells her stotically, climbing in while Akira exchanges looks with Dean and Arashi before she sighs and slams her door shut.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ten minutes later, Dean is knocking on the door to a house with the name ‘Collins’ printed on the mailbox. Sam stands quietly beside him, his hands in his pockets while the twins are checking out the exterior and garden, talking quietly amongst themselves about the color scheme and what they family is growing. Footsteps can be heard from inside and a few minutes later, a young woman answers the door, possibly just around Sam and the twin’s age, looking between each of the young adults with raised eyebrows. They each give her a friendly smile, although Sam more gives a tight-lipped expression, noding his head while Dean addresses the young woman.

“Hey, you must be Haley Collins. I’m Dean, these are my partners, Sam,” he pats Sam on the back, then indicates the two behind him, “Arashi, and Akira. The four of us are rangers from the Park Service.”

Haley eyed the four mistrustfully, frowning at them with furrowed brows as Arashi steps up beside Dean with an easy, calm smile, “We were sent on behalf of Ranger Wilkinson, said he wanted to know a little bit about your brother, Tommy.”

Her frown deepens, “Show me some ID and I might consider it.”

Dean and Arashi nod together in understanding, nonplussed, and take out a couple of fake IDs, which they hold up against the screen to show her. She eyes them cautiously, then looks back up at Dean and Arashi again, both of them flashing her another couple of bright smiles. She relents and opens the door for them.

“Come in.” she tells them, moving out of the way so they can come inside while Arashi nods gratefully and steps in with Dean, both of them stowing their IDs back in their jackets as Akira ushers Sam in front of her. Haley catches sight of the Impala and van behind them and nods to the vehicles.

“Those yours’?” she asked, looking at the four; Dean and Akira pause and look back, nodding, “Yeah, those’re ours’.” They chorus as Sam glances back and Arashi is busy checking out the interior. Haley nods, impressed.

“Nice cars. I like their paint jobs, especially that vans’.” She told them as she closed the front door behind them. Akira smiles politely and thanks her as she leads the four down the front hall into the kitchen, where a young teen is sitting at the table on a laptop. Arashi cocks his head curiously to get a look at the screen as Dean mouths something to Sam, making him roll his eyes while Akira addresses Haley.

“So, Ranger Wilkinson’s told us about your concern about Tommy, but according to his permit, he still won’t be back for some time.” She watched as Haley took a bowl out of the cabinet and turned to face them again, raising her eyebrows, “How can you tell something’s wrong if that’s all taken care of?”

Haley places the bowl on the table, considering Akira , “Tommy checks in every day by cell and even emails us photos and a couple of stupid little videos…” a fond, sad look touching her features as she glances at the laptop the teen, her younger brother, they would guess, is currently watching, “But the last time we heard from him was over three days ago…”

“Maybe there are certain areas of the ridge that don’t give him cell reception.” Sam pointed out, crossing his arms logically while Haley shook her head.

“Tommy has two phones, his regular one, and a satellite phone, too.” She said anxiously, chewing on her bottom lip as Dean asks if Tommy might have forgotten to check in because he was having too much fun out in the woods. The teen, Ben, finally looks up from the laptop, frowning deeply.

“Tommy wouldn’t do that.” He argued, glancing away as Dean turns to him now with raised eyebrows. Arashi leans over Ben’s shoulder, humming as he observes the video he’s watching of his brother while Haley fills the bowl with food. She’s watching her hands as though they’re the most fascinating things in the entire world.

“Our parents died not to long ago, so it’s just been my two brothers and me. Because of that, we’ve all kept pretty close tabs on one another.” She explained, sighing warily, as though bearing a heavy weight on her shoulders. Arashi clears his throat, standing straight.

“Do you might if we look at some photos your brother might have sent you?” he asked, indicating the laptop. Haley nods and pulls it toward her, pulling up a couple of pictures and indicating the young man smiling out of the photo at them.

“That’s Tommy.” She told them, double clicking until another photo popped up, showing Tommy out in the middle of the forest with another young man, each weighted down with a large backpack of supplies. Another click brought them to a still frame of the last video he’d sent them and Haley hits play while the four gather around to watch.

The video’s taking place at night with the background mostly made up of the dark plastic wall of a tent as Tommy is smiling and talking into the camera.

“Hey Haley, it’s day six and we’re still out near Blackwater Ridge.” A shadow flickers across the backdrop of the tent outside and Akira leans in for a closer look while Tom’s still talking to the camera, “But don’t worry, we’re fine, staying safe, okay? I’ll be checking in tomorrow at the usual time.”

Sam leans in with Akira, obviously having seen the same shadow she had while Dean promises Haley they’d find Tom, as they would be heading out to Blackwater Ridge in the morning. Haley glances up at him as Arashi nods.

“Hm, maybe we’ll see the four of you there.” She said, pulling both men up short as they stare at her with raised eyebrows while she sighs, “Look, we can’t just sit here doing nothing anymore, we have to make sure Tom’s okay. So…we hired a guy to take us out to Blackwater Ridge to find him first thing tomorrow morning.” She said sternly, gently gripping Ben’s hand over the table as he nods quietly in agreement. Dean and Arashi look at one another, then at their siblings, each giving a small smile and nod.

“Well…we definitely know how you feel about that…” Arashi sighed as Sam politely interrupts to ask Haley to forward him the video. She blinks a little, surprised, but nods nonetheless.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Later that night, once the group has what information they can get, they head out to a local bar for something to eat and to talk about what they’d learned. The place is crowded with locals spread out evenly around the room, the bar hosting several business men still in their work clothes while the bar tenders alternate between serving them and handing drinks to the waitresses moving between them and the tables, half of which are packed. A small group of men are in the corner playing a game of pool, one of them breaking the formation to begin the game as one of the waitresses walks past with a trayful of beer. The small group of four finds themselves a booth in the corner and sits down.

“All right, so, it looks like Blackwater Ridge isn’t really what you would call a tourist spot around here.” Akira said as they settled in while Sam opens John’s journal next to her, “Not a lot of people seem to want to head out that way except for the locals, although that hasn’t really stopped the disappearances. Just last April, two hikers vanished without a trace. Not even their bodies were ever found.”

“Any other disappearances before that?” Dean asked, quirking a brow while Sam lays a couple of newspaper articles out on the table for them all to go over.

“Yeah, there eight disappearances back in 1982, all completely different people, same year. Authorities rack it up as grizzly attacks.”

Arashi picks up one of the articles taken from a newspaper called The Lost Creek Gazette. The article itself is entitled Grizzly Bear Attacks! And reads:

EIGHT HIKING DISAPPEARANCES UP IN LOST CREEK; DISAPPEARANCES BAFFLE AUTHORITIES’

Families of the missing hikers continue their search and rescue efforts to find them despite a disappointing….’

Sam pulls his laptop out of his bag and opens it as he continues, “Those weren’t the first or last, either. There were more disappearances back in 1959 and 1936, too.”

Akira leans over to glance at the window that’s already there for Tom’s video as Arashi sets the article back down on the table and she frowns.

“Disappearances every twenty-three years, like clockwork…” she sighs, relaxing back into the booth as Sam turns the laptop so Dean and Arashi can see the screen as well, “Also caught something in the guy’s video, which is why we had Haley forward it to us. Look here.”

She pointed to the screen as Sam pulls up the video and plays through three frames which show he shadow he and Akira had seen back at the house. Dean and Arashi lean forward for a better look, frowning together as Dean asks Sam to replay it. He does as requested. Arashi frowns.

“Three frames for something big to move? That isn’t even a second, that’s a fraction of a second….” He leans his chin in his hand, chewing on the knuckle of his index finger with narrowed eyes, “Whatever this thing is obviously has speed…”

Dean is grinning as he punches Sam’s shoulder, making him look at his brother, perplexed as he laughs, “See Sammy, I told you something weird was going on here.”

Sam concedes with a small nod of his head, “Yeah, you were right…” he said, closing his laptop once more, “There’s just one more thing we have in our favor, too.”

Pulling another newspaper article from John’s journal, showing it to the rest of his group.

“Looks like we have a survivor of these supposed ‘grizzly attacks’. Back in fifty-one a young boy was out camping with his parents and managed to get away, although he barley managed to crawl himself out of the woods alive…”

Dean takes the article with raised eyebrows as Arashi asked if they’d provided a name and Sam nods.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Shortly after this, the four head to the survivor, Mr. Shaw’s, house to ask him about what he’d seen. Now an old man, he lets them inside and leads them into his living room with a cigarette in his mouth and a disgruntled disposition.

“Look ranger, I don’t know why the lot of you are suddenly asking me about something that happened fifty-four years ago…what happened when I was a kid is public record and it’s pretty obvious the cause.” He said, almost dismissively as he seats himself in an old brown recliner, still puffing heavily on the cancer stick as Akira rubs uncomfortably at her nose. “It was a mauling…I lost my parents to a –“

“Grizzly?” Sam question empathetically, raising his eyebrows a little, “Are you sure that’s what attacked them?”

Shaw inhales deeply, almost half his cigarette turning to ash as smoke bellows out from his nostrils and the corners of his lips while he eyes Sam and nods. Dean shifts his weight from one foot to the other, eyeing the man while Arashi cocks his head a little.

“Hm, there were other people hat went missing that same year, weren’t there?” he hummed, taking a seat on the couch across from Mr. Shaw and clasping his hands in front of him, “Think those might’ve been bear attacks, too?”

A long pause descends over them as Mr. Shaw thinks about this, switching his gaze contemplatively between each of the four young adults slowly as he considered his answer. Dean leans against the living room door, pursing his lips thoughtfully.

“And what about all the people going missing this year, hm? Think those’re bear attacks as well?”

Mr. Shaw shifts uncomfortably, avoiding each of their gazes as Dean crosses his arms, looking persuasively at him as Arashi leans toward him.

“You know, if we had a bit more information on what we’re deal with, we might be able to put a stop to it.” He told him gently. Shaw scoffs, shaking his head.

“I highly doubt that. What difference would knowing what it is possibly make?” he looked between all of them once more, “Even if I were to tell you what I saw, I doubt any of you would believe me. No one ever did.”

“We might just be different, Mr. Shaw.” Akira told him kindly, offering a gentle smile and cocking her head slightly, “Trust us, please? Just tell us what you saw.”

Mr. Shaw frowns at her, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully before he sighed, pulling his cigarette from between his lips to run his free hand down his face.

“Didn’t really see much, the thing moved too fast to get a proper look…” he finally admitted after another long pause. “Knew how to hide itself well, too. I did hear it, though…it gave off this..this roar, unlike any man or animal I ever heard before in my life.”

“This creature, it came at night, didn’t it?” Sam pressed, quirking his brows curiously as Mr. Shaw nodded, “And it got inside your tent, right?”

Shaw shook his head at this, frowning, “No, my parents and I were staying in a cabin the last night I saw them and it….it got in somehow. Didn’t even smash a window or break the door, it just….it seemed to know how to unlock it. I don’t know about any of you, but I’ve never heard of any kind of grizzly who knows how to do something like that. I’d fallen asleep before the fire that night, didn’t even know what was going on until I heard my parents screams….”

“Did this thing kill them?” Arashi asked softly, earning another head shake from the older man, “No, but it did drag them off god knows where…” he sighed softly, almost subconsciously rubbing at a spot on his neck, just below his collar, “Been asking myself for years why it left me alive, though…why it didn’t take me, too. “ ‘Couse, it did leave me with a souvenir…”

Shaw pulls the collar of his shirt aside to show them his neck, where they can see three long, deep scars left behind from obviously large, sharp claws. The four look closely, Akira looking quietly at Sam as Dean narrows his eyes and Arashi purses his lips thoughtfully. Shaw fixes his collar back into place.

“I’m telling the four of you now, there’s something evil lurking out in those woods, like some kind of demon….” He shakes his head, “And I really hope you rangers know what you’re doing trying to take care of this thing.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After talking to Mr. Shaw, the four head for a nearby motel for a quick regroup and assessment of the situation. While Dean goes downstairs to the Impala to get some weapons to prep for the hunt, Arashi stays behind with Sam and Akira as they’re trying to figure out what exactly they’re dealing with.

“Can’t be spirits or demons,” he’s saying as he paces he length of the room, reading from an old tomb on different, supernatural creatures, “Those suckers don’t even have to worry about locks, considering they can just walk through walls no problem.”

“Well, it’s definitely something corporeal, then.” Akira hums from the table, chewing on her thumb nail thoughtfully as she regards her own laptop thoughtfully.

“Oh, big words.” Dean says, closing the door behind him as he dumps a duffle bag full of weapons on one of the beds, “I didn’t just walk into an English lecture, did I?”

Akira glances up from her screen, a smile tweaking the corners of her lips as Sam shakes his head, asking what he thought the creature might be if he was so smart. Dean picks up John’s journal from the bedside table and sits down next to the duffel, flipping through the pages.

“Well, from what we’ve seen so far with claws and that speed we’ve seen….I would guess maybe a skinwalker, maybe some kind of black dog.” He shrugged as Arashi continued his pacing without looking up from his book, “But, whatever this is we’re dealing with here, we are talking about a corporeal creature, which means we can kill it.”

“I will throw a book at you, Winchester.” Akira told him, earning a shit-eating grin in return as Dean’s pulling out a couple of guns to clean and load up with ammunition.

“Anyways,” Sam interrupted, looking up from his laptop himself, “I don’t think we can really let that Haley girl go out into those woods with this creature on the loose.”

“You really think you could stop here, Sam?” Arashi asked, finally plopping himself down on the couch across the room and propping his foot up on the wooden coffee table, raising his eyebrows in question. Sam nods, frowning at him as he snorts, “Please, the girl’s brother is missing and she’s worried about him, it isnt like we can just tell her there’s some big scary monster waiting out there to pounce. And, even if we did, that’s no guarantee that she’d even listen. Tell me,” he closed his book and dropped it onto the table, leaning forward to regard Sam, “If you were in Haley’s place and one of us, Dean, Akira, or I were missing, would you really want to just sit around twiddling your thumbs or would you rather be out there looking for us yourself?”

“He’s right, Sam,” Dean interjected, clicking a full magazine into one of the guns, “Personally, I would really rather be out there looking for you guys myself and if that girl’s anything like one of us, I know she isn’t going to give up on this, not easily. It would just be better if we went with her so we could protect her from that big, fuzzy predator out there.”

“I thought we were supposed to be finding dad, though,” Sam argued heatedly, closing his laptop harder than was necessary, making Akira jump a little, “Not babysitting some hard-headed girl trying to get herself killed…”

Dea, Arashi, and Akira all pause to regard Sam seriously for a moment, taking in his reaction and the implication behind his words with identical frowns on their faces. He looked between each of them, the crease in his forehead deepening with his frown.

“What?” he asked in a hard voice. Akira glances away, shaking her head as she returns her attention to her laptop and the two other men clear their throats, muttering something together as Arashi gets up to help Dean load up their weapons.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning, the four head out to the forest to meet up with Haley and her team for their search. She’s already waiting just on the edge of the trees with an older, bald man holding a shot gun and her younger brother. Each of them is dressed in shorts and t-shirts, carrying full backpacks for the trip. As the Impala pulls up, the trio turn to stare and Haley shakes her head, almost exasperate, as though she was expecting them to be here to warn them not to go off on their hike. Akira hands Sam the duffel bag and shoulders her own backpack full of supplies as she climbs out of the back, her hair tied up into a high ponytail while Arashi regards the trio.

“Hey, got room for four more?”

The irritated look on Haley’s face fades and she stares at them in surprise, “Wait, you want to come look with us?”

The older gentleman regards each of the critically as he speaks to Haley, “Who’re these four?”

Haley shakes her head, sighing and crossing her arms, “They’re the only help the park service could muster up for the search and rescue, apparently.”

Sam walks past them toward the treeline without a word while the man, Roy, stares at them, forehead wrinkling as he quirks a brow, “You four are rangers?” he asked, turning back to Dean, Arashi, and Akira, all of whom nod, “Yup!”

Haley eyes each of them critically herself, taking in their attire with pursed lips before flicking her gaze up to meet theirs’, “You really think biker boots and jeans are appropriate for hiking?”

Dean and Arashi glance down at themselves as Akira sighed and walks after Sam, the only one having thought to at least put on a pair of sneakers before they’d left. When both men look up again, they both grin cheekily.

“Well, we’ll tell you one thing, sweetheart, none of us exactly do shorts.” Dean tells her as he and Arashi walk past her after their siblings. Roy scoffs at them.

“You four really think this is funny?” he pursed his lips, eyes flashing, “This ain’t exactly your backyard at home, you know, this here’s dangerous backcountry. Tom might be somewhere out there, hurt.”

The four pause and look back at Roy with serious looks on their faces as Arashi cocks his head.

“Trust me, buddy, we know, we aren’t exactly new to the whole danger concept.” He told him, folding his hands behind his head, “All we wanna do now is help Haley get her brother back, that’s all.”

Dean nods his agreement as he walks past Sam and Akira toward the woods, “We’d best get this show on the road if we want to find the guy. The sooner we find him, the sooner he’ll be safe.”

Roy blinks as he looks quietly at Haley, as though asking if this is okay. She shrugs, sighing, and indicates for him to follow them as Arashi continues on after the trio. Roy sighs himself, shouldering his bag as he leads Haley and Ben into the woods after them.

The hike thought the woods is mostly silent; Roy takes the lead not too far in as Dean and Arashi flank him with Haley and Ben close on their tail, and Sam and Akira bringing up the rear. As the day goes on, the forest slowly comes awakens around them as it’s creatures come out to begin their day; birds sing in the high branches overhead and flint about eating seeds and worms poking out from the damp earth below as squirrels and chipmunks scurry from tree to tree, collecting nuts and/or berries. The canopies overhead rustle in the cool breezes that waft their way through and one or twice the group catches sight of deer through the thick trees, although they’re careful not to disturb them as they carefully make their way past.

“So, Roy,” Dean calls to the man walking just a couple of steps in front of him after a short stretch of silence had settle over the group, “You said you’ve done a little bit of hunting, right?”

Roy looks back at him and gives a small, proud smile, nodding, “Hm, more than a little, really.”

Arashi nods his head slightly, pushing his bottom lip out thoughtfully, “Any preference for your prey of choice then?”

Roy gave a small shrug, glancing around at it their surroundings carefully his gun held tight in his hand, “Hm, I mostly got for the big game, you kno, like buck. Sometimes I'll even hunt me some grizzly, too.

He suddenly stops, his eyes fixed on a pony just ahead of him. Arashi pauses just behind him, staring at the back of the man’s head thoughtfully while Dean moves to step around him.

“So tell me, you ever get a case where Bambi or Yogi turns around and tries to hunt you?” he asked, freezing as Roy and Arashi suddenly grab him at the same second and quickly glancing back at them. Sam and Akira stop, watching closely as Akira looks between them, grabbing Sam’s hand as it inches toward the gun at his waist.

“Whatcha doin’?” Dean asked nonchalantly, quirking his brows. Arashi pulls Dean back as Roy picks up a stick at his feet and pokes into a pile of leaves littering the forest floor. With an audible crack and snap, the stick breaks clean in half under the heavy clamp of the bear trap Dean had almost stepped in. Haley purses her lips in annoyance, glaring silently at the back of Dean’s head while Roy waves the broken end of the stick toward him.

“Best watch your step ‘round here, ranger.” He emphasized the word heavily, skeptically, as he tossed the stick aside and continued onward, leaving Dean to stare after him as Arashi slaps his back and heads after Roy. Dean then looks back at the rest of the group, who were watching him with raised brows while he feigns an air of knowledge.

“Bear trap…best be careful.” He warned, clearing his throat nervously as they continue on after Roy and Arashi. Haley takes a few quick steps to catch up to him, frowning deeply.

“Very little provisions, inappropriate clothes for a hike, a duffel bag!” she hissed from between clenched teeth, eyes fiery, “None of you are really rangers, are you?” she grabs Dean’s arm before he can reply, yanking him around to face her, “Who the hell are all of you?”

Ben continues on past his sister as she and Dean come to a stop while Sam and Akira hesitant just feet from them, looking between Dean and Haley. Dean glances silently at them, telling them to go on ahead and they quietly not, walking past. Dean watches them go, waiting until he and Haley had a bit of breathing room before turning back to her.

“Okay, you’re got us…we’re not really rangers.” He sighed, meeting her gaze evenly, “Sam’s my younger brother; Arashi and Akira are twins we’ve known for a very long time, since we were kids. Our dad, mine and Sam’s, is missing, and we’re out here looking for him. We think he might be here, out at Blackwater Ridge, but we’re not entirely sure. As for all this, helping you look,” he cocked his head slightly, looking after the others again, “I just kinda figured we were in the same boat, you know?”

Haley searches Dean’s face, frowning quietly as she takes this in, “Why not just tell me this earlier, then…?” she asked softly. Dean returned his attention to her, offering a small smile and a shrug.

“Well, I’m telling you now.” He told her honestly, chuckling faintly, “And, you know, honestly, this is probably the most honest I’ve ever been with a woman in my life. But…are we…okay now?”

Haley’s brows furrow as she continues to scan Dean’s face, searching for any hint of a lie before she sighs out slowly, nodding, “Yeah, I guess so…”

A smile lights up Dean’s face then and then he chuckles, “And what did you mean earlier when you said we had so little provisions?” he reached into a pocket of his jacket and pulled a big bag of peanut butter M&Ms from within, grinning like a Chesire cat. “Akira wasn’t the only one who thought to bring something for the trip.” He hummed happily, taking a handful of the candies from the bag and popping them into his mouth as he started after the others once more. Haley stares after him for a moment, blinking, then shakes her head slowly with a small smile and follows him.

A short time after this, the group reaches an open patch of land and stops for a short break, looking around cautiously; Akira offers water bottles from her bag to her brothers as Roy announces they’ve arrived at Blackwater Ridge. Sam ignores the water bottle he’s offered and moves past Roy, scanning the woods critically.

“What’re our coordinates?” he asked, glancing back at the hunter, who pulls out a GPS.

“Thirty-five, minus one-eleven.” He reads aloud as Dean moves up alongside Sam, Akira and Arashi, who’re all listening closely, eyes flicking in all directions at the sudden quiet that had fallen on the forest. They exchange dark looks, instincts prickling at the lack of sound, including that of any cricket. Roy returns his GPS to his bag, announcing he’s going to take a look around. Sam warns him not to go off alone, earning a grin in return.

“Real sweet of you to worry, but I can handle myself.” He said, patting Sam’s shoulder as he walked past him and the others. Akira narrows her eyes after him as Arashi turns to address Haley and Ben, who’re several yards behind him.

“We need to stick together now, people.” He said, ushering them over to sit on a rock nearby as he, Akira, Sam, and Dean position themselves around them. “No one goes off on their own until Roy gets back.”

Glancing at one another, the siblings shrug and take a seat, sighing together while they take their water bottles from their packs to rehydrate. Akira bumps Sam’s shoulder, the water bottle she’s offered before still in her hand, which she held out to him, pursing her lips tightly as he raised a hand to politely decline.

“Sam, you haven’t had water all day and we’ve been hiking for miles, take the damn bottle before you hurt yourself.” She said sternly, shoving it into his hand before he could protest, “And don’t even try to toss it away, that’s a waste of resource and you know we need those while we’re out here.”

Sam sighed slowly, conceding, and nodded as he unscrewed the lid and took a pull from the water bottle; Akira smiles, relieved, and crosses her arms as she looks out over the forest once more, listening and watching for anything out of the ordinary. Sam glances at her.

“Will you always be this stubborn?” he quirked a brow, earning a smile in return from the corner of her mouth, “Only when it comes to making sure you, Dean, and Arashi take proper care of yourselves.” She told him without looking away from the trees, missing the faint smile that crossed Sam’s lips as he lifted the water bottle to his mouth once more. “Okay mom.” He teased, earning a small laugh in return as she bumped her shoulder playfully against his. “Shut up.”

“Hey Haley!” Roy’s voice came from nearby, drawing the group’s attention in that direction as Haley got up from the rock, “I’ve found something over here!”

Exchanging a look with her younger brother, Haley leads the charge through the brush until they come to another open patch of ground, where they find a couple of tens ripped to shreds and covered in blood while supplies were scattered haphazardly about. Haley stares around with wide eyes, visibly shaken by what she’s seen laid out before her.

“Oh god…” she breathed, holding onto Ben for support as she looked about ready to fall over while Roy’s eyeing what remains of the camp and the twins are examining everything closely.

“Definitely looks like a grizzly passed through here…” he said slowly, glancing at Haley while Dean’s checking the ground for tracks. Haley steps away from Ben as she starts calling for her brother, dropping her backpack among the shreds remaining of one of the tents as she makes her way through the campsite. Sam exchanges a look with Akira and hurries after her, trying to calm her down as her calls become more desperate, urgent, and louder.

“Hey Dean, Aki,” Arashi calls, motioning for the two to come over to him; they push past a large bush, glancing down at the tracks he points to; they’re large, unlike most footprints left by an animal and there’s evidence that bodies have been dragged not too far behind them as the earth is scuffed and overturned. Akira kneels for a closer look as Dean calls Sam to join them. “Looks like Tommy and his friends were dragged from the campsite, then just…abducted. Since the tracks vanish here,” Arashi indicates where the tracks stop, “Could be this thing jumped up into the trees.” He glanced up into the canopies as Sam and Akira get to their feet once more while Dean frowns deeply.

“Well, this definitely isn’t any kind of skinwalker or black dog like I’ve ever seen…” he looked around at the rest of their hunting party, who all nod, one by one, before they turn to head back toward the campsite. By the time they arrive, Haley’s kneeling by one of the tents, cradling a bloody cell phone in her hand and sobbing softly; Akira frowns, pointing out the missing battery and back to the device as Dean crouches next to her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m sure you brother could still be alive.” He said softly, convincingly, even though the others can tell he’s not a hundred percent certain on this himself. Haley glares quietly at him, not at all comforted, her face screwed up in pain and anger as she opens her mouth to snap at him when a voice suddenly comes from the trees, just a short distance from the campsite.

“Help! Someone, help me!”

Gun in hand and face set in determination, Roy leads the charge into the brush as the rest of the group run after him in the direction they think the voice is coming from while it continues to shout for help. They stop several yards from the campsite and look around, perplexed, when they don’t find anyone. Haley looks around quickly, frowning deeply.

“The voice was coming from around here, wasn’t it?” she asked, glancing around at each member of the group as they listen intently for the voice again before Sam gently grabs Akira’s arm, pulling her back in the direction of the campsite while Dean and Arashi tell the trio they need to head back. The group reluctantly concedes, taking one last glance around before they head back, where, they’re shocked to find, their gear has disappeared.

“Oh no, our packs!” Haley exclaimed, hurrying back onto the site to look around, as though expecting they’d just, somehow, rolled off behind a rock or something; Roy frowns, fists tightening around his gun.

“Great, there goes my GPS and satellite phone…” he groaned irritably while Ben is helping Haley look and the four supernatural hunters glance around suspiciously. Haley finally gives up and stands, spearing her fingers through her hair as she wonders aloud what could possibly be going on. Akira hums thoughtfully, watching the treetops.

“This thing is really smart…” she says, mostly speaking to Sam without taking her eyes from the canopies overhead as he nods, “Especially if it’s trying to cut us off from the rest of the world to keep us from calling for help.”

Roy regards the two mistrustfully, narrowing his eyes tightly, “Don’t the two of you mean someone? Obviously some nutjob is out here playing around with our heads by taking all our gear.”

Sam ignores Roy and turns to Dean and Arashi, who look around as he asks to speak with their privately. They nod and lead the way to the other end of the campsite as Akira excuses them and hurries after.

“Mind if we take a look at Uncle John’s journal?” she asked, thanking Dean as he hands it over while he raises an eyebrow curiously at her and Sam, although they either notice nor are ready to answer yet as they flip through the pages until they come to the one they’re looking for.

“Here we go.” Akira turns the book to show Dean and Arashi, tapping the drawing of a First Nations-style figure; both men glance at it, blinking and frowning together, their brows furrowed together.

“I thought wendigos never showed up anywhere so far west as this?” Arashi said, crossing his arms over his chest, “I mean, with most cases, they’re mostly found in the woods of Minnesota or northern Michigan, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, usually, but we have to think about the facts here.” Sam argued, frowning, “I mean, the claws, the way it knows how to mimic a human voice and cut it’s victims off from civilization to make it easier to hunt them down. We already know this can not be a skinwalker or a black dog, so what else could it possibly be if it isn’t a wendigo?”

Dean and Arashi look at one another contemplatively, then sigh together as they concede while Dean looks to where he’s stashed his pistol in one side of his jeans.

“Well, these are pretty much useless then, aren’t they?” he sighs, taking the jounal back from Akira and stashing it away while she and Sam start back for the others, knowing they had to get Haley, Ben, and Roy out of here and fast.

“All right, everyone.” Akira clears her throat as she approaches the trio, who look up from their own discussion, “Listen, things around here have gotten very…complicated, to say the least, so I think it’s about time we left.”

Haley raises her eyebrows at the other young woman, frowning, “What do you mean? We’re not leaving.” She said, crossing her arms stubbornly as Roy gives Akira a comforting look.

“Aw, don’t be scared, little lady, there isn’t anything out there that I can’t possibly handle.” He told her with a reassuring grin, patting her back. Akira blinks, then gives a small, calculated smile and looks at Sam almost pleadingly to help her.

“Look, Akira isn’t so much worried about herself as she is about all of you.” He told them, frowning at Roy with pursed lips, “What we’re dealing with here isn’t exactly what you would call normal and we can’t possibly face it with firearms, as those just make it angry. We have to leave now, before it starts getting dark.”

Roy snorted, unconvinced, “Listen to yourself, kid, you’re talking nonsense. We came here to find Tom and that’s exactly what we’re going to do, no if, ands, or buts about it. Besides, neither you, your girlfriend, nor those other two yahoos are really in any position to be giving our orders, now are ya?”

Dean cleared his throat loudly, trying to diffuse the situation as Arashi tried to convince everyone to just take a step back. Sam continues to speak to Roy, ignoring them.

“None of us should ever have let any of you come out here in the first place, okay? We’re just trying to keep all of you safe.”

Roy snorts again, stepping up right into Sam’s personal space as he meets his eye condescendingly

“So you trying to act like a big tough guy and protect us, huh? Boy, save the show for when you and your girlfriend are alone together and leave this to someone who actually knows what he’s doing. Don’t forget, you were still getting tucked into bed by your mommy when I was out hunting in these woods.”

Sam meets Roy’s gaze challengingly, pursing his lips tightly as he clenches his jaw; Akira looks between the two men quietly as they square each other up, ready to step in to break up a fight, almost reminded of those documentaries she’d seen about two males fighting for the alpha position of a pack or group. If either man was any hairier, she’d mistake them for a couple of monkeys fighting for control of their troop.

“You really think you can handle a perfect hunter like this one? This thing is smarter than you, faster, stronger, and it will hunt you down and eat you alive unless you listen to us and get your stupid sorry ass out of these woods.” Sam told Roy in a quiet, irritable sounding voice while the older man just laughs.

“Sounds like you’re missing a few screws up in that big head of yours, boy. You sure you don’t want me to help you find them?”

“Don’t need ‘em, not when we’re hunting a wen –“

Akira gently grabs Sam’s arm and pulls him away from Roy, “Okay, I think that’s just about enough.” She said scathingly, glaring at Roy as Haley firmly tells him to back down as Dean tells Sam the same. Sam shrugs his arm out of Akira’s hold and steps back without taking his eyes off Roy, who continues to meet his gaze evenly, his chin lifted proudly. Haley sighs.

“All right, everybody just calm down, okay? Look, there’s a possibility that Tommy might still be alive out there and there is absolutely no way I’m leaving these woods without him.” She looked between her group and Sam’s, her expression softening a little into a deep, pleading frown, “And I know I won’t be able to find him without any of you here, but we’re going to need to work together, so, please…?”

Akira looks empathetically at the other young woman before glancing over at Dean and Arashi, silence stretching over the group. The two men finally nod, sighing.

“All right, but we’re going to need to settle in here at the campsite and try to protect ourselves.” Arashi said as he started looking for a good, long stick, “Going out into the woods at night with this thing stalking us isn’t the best plan since it’s advantages heighten once the sun goes down. If you think it’s a good hunt during the day, you’d be shocked at what it can do at night. We can’t beat it in the dark.”

Haley sighs, relaxing a little, obviously glad they could all agree to try to work together as she watches Arashi look, “Okay…but…how exactly can we protect ourselves against this….thing?”

The young man stands and holds up several long sticks he’s found, two of which he hands to his sister and best friend, “We need to draw Anasazi symbols around the campsite to keep the wendigo out. They can’t step over these marks.” He nudges Sam and presses a stick into his hand as well, quirking a brow as he slowly turns to face him, frowning.

“Ara’s right.” Dean agreed, nodding his head as Akira moves to begin writing the symbol around the campsite, “Now, while we’re doing this, why don’t you three gather some wood and get a fire going? We’re going to need it.”

Haley nods and gently tugs Ben along to help her as Roy eyes the four quietly, his eyes narrowed in thought. Arashi glances at him as Dean starts helping Akira, “You going to just sit on your ass all day, your highness, or are you going to help?”

The older man purses his lips irritably, opening his mouth to say something, although he soon thinks better of it, sighs, and turns to go help the siblings. Arashi shakes his head after him as he starts helping his sister and friends put up protection.

A half hour later, with the sun sinking further and further below the horizon, turning the sky overhead a dark, velvet blue sewn with bright, twinkling stars, the group is gathered around a glowing fire. Haley pokes at the ambers and shifts the sticks around to keep the flames going as Dean and Arashi are drawing the last of the Anasazi symbols around their camp. Roy watches skeptically from a rock propped up against a tree nearby, polishing the barrel of his gun with an old, faded blue rag.

“You boys really think this freaky mumbo jumbo crap is going to keep us safe against this….wendiao thing?” he snorts, quirking a brow at the two as they glance over their shoulders. Arashi exchanges a look with Dean before rolling his eyes and returning to what he’s drawing.

“Yes, we do. And, you know, Roy, no one likes a jackass skeptic.” Dean tells him, standing straight as they finish and dust off their hands while they head over to where Sam and Akira are sitting at the very edge of the group. Akira is trying to convince Sam to come closer to the fire to get warm, but he brushes off her concern, leaning further into the tree behind him with his arms crossed as he’s staring off into the woods. The two men sit beside them as Akira frowns at Sam, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

“Sam, what in the world is going on with you lately, huh? You’ve been acting like a – a –“

“An overstuffed powder keg about ready to blow.” Arashi finishes, leaning back into the tree as he glances at Sam with a frown while Akira and Dean nod their heads in agreement, frowning worriedly at him, “And don’t you be going and saying you’re not Sam, because all of us here know you are. You really think we wouldn’t notice, huh? We’ve all known you practically our entire lives and we’re not blind. Dean and I are supposed to be the volatile ones around here, while you and Akira’re are the calm, logical ones….”

Sam considers this, although he doesn’t turn to look at any of them; Akira sees his jaw flex as he drums his fingers against his forearm thoughtfully.

“Why’re we still here?” he asked after a long bout of silence, still not turning to look at any of them, “I mean, we obviously know dad isn’t around, that much is for sure, isn’t it? And even if he had been, he would’ve left us a sign or a message on what to do next, wouldn’t he?”

“Yeah…” Dean sighed, folding his own arms as he glances up toward the thick canopies, where a few patches of deep blue sky can be seen through the leaves, “But, you know, to tell you the truth, I don’t think dad’s ever really been to Lost Creek in his life….”

“Then what’s the point of us sticking around?” Sam finally turned to look at his older brother, frowning deeply, “If we know dad’s not here or has ever been here, why are we still here? We should get these people back to town and get back on the road to find him.”

“Sam…” Akira shifted to face him, furrowing her brows up at her best friend, “You know we can’t possibly do that, not until this whole thing is finished. If we bring Haley and the team back to town, they could just come back out here, keep looking for Tom and get taken themselves. We have to protect them, just like our dads taught us. That’s probably why Uncle John left us his journal, his single most valuable possession in the whole world. It has everything he ever knew about all the evil things out there in the world. And he’s passed it on to the four of us. If daddy did that for Arashi and I, we would know they want us to keep going and carry on the mission they started. Keep the family business going.”

Sam frowns at her, his forehead wrinkling as his brows furrow deeply over his dark brown eyes, “But that still leaves unanswered questions, doesn’t it? Like, why our dad doesn’t just call us or something, why he doesn’t just….tell us what he wants us to do or even where he is…”

“Maybe he’s just trying to find the right time…” Arashi pointed out, cocking his head a little with a small, understanding smile, as though considering something else as well, “But until that time, Uncle John has left us a job to do here and Dean, Aki, and I intend to do what he needs us to do, not sit around twiddling our thumbs.”

Sam glances away, frowning darkly and gulping so thickly his Adam’s apple bobs with the movement as his jaw clenches tightly once more, “None of you really get it, though, do you? I have to find dad, now…I have to figure out where Jessica’s killer is and take care of it before it drives me insane. That’s all I can ever think about now, all I’ve ever thought about since she died…”

Dean, Arashi, and Akira all look quietly at one another in understanding, knowing how badly Jessica’s death had affected Sam. There were still fresh wounds that needed time to hea, time to scar over so Sam could move on with his life. Revenge wasn’t always the best path to follow, but it was the one that kept him going, kept him from giving into his sadness and sinking into depression. Anger was not a much better emotion to hold onto, but it was the fire within Sam that none of them wanted to see go out. Especially now.

Wrapping a gentle arm around Sam, Akira hugged him tightly and rubbed his back quietly, letting him know she was there for him whenever he needed her. He leaned subconsciously into her touch, relaxing ever so slightly as he leaned his head against hers’, taking her free hand and squeezing it tight. Arashi leans closer to squeeze both their hands, frowning quietly.

“Sam, you know we are going to find whatever it was that took Jessica away from you, but you’re going to have to prepare yourself for it, because this search is not just going to end tomorrow. It might stretch on for a while. But all this anger you’ve got, you can’t keep it pent up inside you the entire time, because, eventually, it will burn you out. You’ve got to learn to have patience with the process.”

Sam glances up at Arashi quietly, then looks down again at their joined hands, frowning to himself while Dean nods his head in agreement.

“How do you guys do it…?” he finally asked after a long moment, “The three of you, dad…Bobby? How can you all handle this so well?”

“Them, for one.” Dean said with a small smile, nodding to where Haley and Ben are sitting, making Sam glance up quietly, “It’s one thing for the four of us to have screwed up families, but another to sit back and let it happen to someone else, too. Helping to keep others from falling into the same shit pit we’re in makes all this a bit more bearable, you know?”

The four lapse into silence once more as Sam considers this before Arashi chuckles softly, bemused.

“Wanna know what else helps?” he grinned at Sam, who quirks a brow as Akira shakes her head at her brother.

“Please don’t say killing things…” she sighed, although Arashi’s grin widens a little as he chuckles, nodding, “I was gonna say killing as many evil sons of bitches as possible, but that works, too.”

Sam and Dean both smile in amusement, shaking their head at the twins antics when a twig snaps nearby. The four immediately jump to attention, looking in the direction the noise had come from as the same voice from before calls out for help just as they did this afternoon. They get to their feet, Dean and Arashi pulling out guns as Sam and Akira shine flashlights out into the darkness.

“Just stay where you are.” Dean calls back to Roy, Haley, and Ben, who have all looked up; Roy was on his feet himself, his gun cocked and ready while Haley hugs Ben close, watching the shadows closely for any sign of movement, “It’s trying to draw us out, but so long as we stay here, we should we safe.”

“Yeah, okay,” Roy said sarcastically, rolling his eyes, “Safe inside the magical circle.”

The wendigo calls out for them once more, feigning distress, although the voice soon cuts off into a low, guttural growl that seems to echo through the trees around them. Roy immediately points his gun toward the noise, the skepticism melting from his features along with some of his natural color as he admits that that definitely did NOT sound like a grizzly bear. Haley whispers soothingly to Ben, trying to keep him calm as a shadows rushes between a couple of trees nearby, making her shriek in fright.

“It’s here…” Sam and Akira whisper, shifting subconsciously closer as there’s an audible click and Roy fires twice in the direction the shadow at gone, into a large bush that was rustling heavily. The rustling stopped after the second shot.

“Got it!” Roy exclaimed triumphantly as he jogged into the darkness to catch a glimpse of the creature he had hit. Arashi immediately takes off after him to stop him as Dean shouts for him not to go; Akira glances at Sam and they take off after her brother as Dean then turns to Haley and Ben, telling them to stay put as he follows. Haley watches the four disappear, tightly gripping a burning stick in her hand as she’s shielding Ben behind her with her free arm.

By the time Dean catches up, Arashi, Sam, and Akira have followed Roy to the base of one of the many oak trees, where he believes the wendigo is hiding. He’s looking up into the canopy as Sam and Akira bathe it in light before he turns to smile smugly at them. The canopy suddenly gives a great shake and a shadow descends on the hunter, snapping his neck audibly.

“No!” Arashi yells as the creatures drags Roy up into the tree before any of them can stop it, running to the base to stare up into the canopy in vain.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dawn finds the hunting party back at the campsite, where Dean and Arashi have moved Haley and Ben into what remains of one of the tents as they explain fully what’s going on. Sam and Akira huddle near the campfire, keeping it burning even as the sunlight begins to peek through the trees overhead, the sky overhead fading to a bright cyan as the horizon glows bright pinks and oranges. The later two are going over John’s journal together as Sam’s absent-mindedly playing with the lanyard attached to it, frowning at the notes they’re reading.

“I-I just…I don’t understand how…” Haley breathed, hugging Ben close to her, heavily shaken as she stares between Dean and Arashi in disbelief, “How can something like this possibly be real…? They aren’t supposed to, but yet…”

“I know it’s a lot to take in…” Arashi said softly, putting a gently hand on Haley’s shoulder and squeezing gently with a small smile, “And I really wish we could tell you different, but….this is the world we live in…”

Haley sighs out slowly, running her fingers anxiously through her hair as she looks quickly around at the surrounding trees, “How exactly do we know that…thing isn’t out there right now, watching us?”

Dean and Arashi look at one another, then sigh, shaking their heads, “We don’t, exactly…”

Haley chews her bottom lip, returning her attention to the two men, “How exactly do the two of you know about this kinda stuff?”

The two cocks heir heads together contemplatively, humming together for a moment as they consider their answer.

“Well…” Arashi hedges after a short pause, “This kinda thing runs in our family….”

Sam and Akira finally seem to have what they’re looking for and walk over to where the four are sitting after they’ve extinguished the fire. Haley stands to meet them.

“All right, so, Sam and I figure in the daylight, we have at least half a chance against this thing…” Akira said, crossing her arms before her as Sam’s still regarding the journal, “And I don’t know about any of you, but I, for one, would like to end this, here and now.”

Dean and Arashi both grin widely like a couple of Chesire cats who’ve just caught a couple of juicy mice, “Ara and I are in.” Dean said as they stand up while Sam shows Haley and Ben the wendigo page of John’s journal.

“Wendigo is a word derived from the Cree Indians, it means ‘evil that devours’.” He explains as Dean and Arashi begin scavenging through what’s left of the supplies from Tom’s group.

“With how far back these things go, they’re hundreds of years old.” Akira continues, frowning to herself, “All of them were once men from different backgrounds, no matter what happens, whether they were an Indian, frontiersman, miner, or even a hunter.”

“What could cause them to change into something like this…?” Haley asks softly, glancing up from the journal at the two.

“Well, it’s always the same, really.” Arashi said, standing straight behind them and flipping some hair from his face, “Always some poor guy getting stuck out here in the middle of a harsh winter without proper supplies or a way to get help, which can lead them to becoming cannibals to keep themselves alive. And whoever turns usually tends to go after the nearest food source, which often tends to be his own comrades from the same tribe or camp.”

“So…they’re like the Donner Party, right?” Ben asks quietly, glancing between the adults as Sam and Akira both nods their heads.

“There are many cultures across the globe that believe eating the flesh of another human can give a person certain kinds of abilities,” Akira gently takes the journal from Sam to go over the page again herself, “Supposedly some of those things can include speed, strength, and even immortality.”

“Unfortunately, though, if you eat enough of it over the years,” Dean glances up from sorting through a pile of supplies nearby, “It can turn you into something considered less than human and it’ll make you always hungry for more.”

Haley and Ben both look at each other with identical frowns as Haley chews her bottom lip and Ben crosses his arms shakily, “If that’s true, though, how can we be sure that Tommy is alive…?” Haley whispered, looking between the four of them. Dean and Arashi pause in what their doing and glance over at their siblings as they exchanges looks with one another.

“You aren’t going to like what you hear.” Arashi told her with a small frown. Haley looks between all of them again, setting her jaw firmly, “Tell me.”

Dean sighed out slowly, “Well, more than anything, a wendigo’s been around long enough to know how to last long winters without food, especially since it hibernates for years at a time. When it’s awake, though, it tends to keep it’s victims alive.”

“Meaning it stores them away somewhere dark, hidden, and safe so it can feed whenever it needs to, kinda like squirrels, or chipmunks storing nuts and seeds for the winter.” Arashi interjects, coming back around to join them, “Likely if you’re brothers still alive, the wendigo’s got him safely tucked away. We just have to track the sucker back to wherever it has it’s den.”

Haley nods slowly, although her frown still remains, “But once we get Tommy back, how exactly are we supposed to stop this wendigo?”

“Well, traditional weapons like guns and knives are useless, so,” Dean and Arashi both hold up a couple of unopened beer bottles, a small container of lighter fluid, and several rags they’ve found, “We’re gonna have to torch him.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A short time later, with the sun cleared past the horizon and several Molotov cocktails in their possession, the group has set out to follow a trail of distinct claw marks and blood leading them deeper into the forest. Dean and Akira lead the way with Haley and Ben directly behind them and Sam and Arashi bring up the rear. Each of the hunters is on high alert as they watch and listen for any sign of the wendigo between watching their surroundings and the marked trees around them. They continue on through the forest for a long while, the sun crossing the sky overhead during their hike and around noon, the Winchester brothers switch positions. As the blood claw marks and broken branches around them become more and more frequent, Sam and Akira decide to come to a stop, calling their brothers over toward them without taking their eyes off their disfigured surroundings.

“Dean, Ara, this trail seems all too easy to follow…” Akira whispered to the two as she looked from one clawed tree to the next “I mean, at all this…if the wendigo didn’t want us to find it’s den, it wouldn’t leave such a clear, distinct trail…”

“Not unless it wanted us on this trail…” Arashi muttered just as a low growl sounds from one of the treetops overhead, making the four whip around as the canopy of the tree in which Haley is standing rustles. Several large drops of blood fall from between the leaves, staining her shirt and making her jump as she looks over at her shoulder, then up at the branches overhead. She leaps out of the way as a dead body drops down toward her, staring with wide eyes at Roy’s corpse as it lays where she’d been standing not seconds before.

The hunters hurry over to make sure she’s okay, Dean kneeling to examine Roy as Akira carefully helps Haley up from where she’d fallen, asking if she was all right. She nods slowly, obviously shaken as she can’t take her eyes off the blue skinned corpse before her. More growls come from the canopies, making all of them look up as dean scrambles back to his feet.

“I think that’s our cue!” He says, shoving Haley and Akira in front of him, “Go, run, now!”

The group takes off as fast as they can through the trees, doing their best to stay together and not get caught on any of the tree roots littering the forest floor. Ben is not so lucky, as he takes a spill onto the forest floor, taking Arashi with him as he’s distracted look behind him to see if the wendigo is gaining. He quickly rolls off the teen to spring back to his feet, ignoring the broken Molotov cocktail bottle in front of them as he grabs Ben’s arm to haul him back to his feet. Sam runs back toward them, grabbing Ben’s other arm.

“Don’t worry, Ben, we’ve gotcha.” He reassured him, even as they get separated from the rest of their group. Dean, Haley, and Akira, however, are brought up short as the wendigo drops down from the trees before them. Haley screams, making the others look around, wide eyed.

“Haley!” Ben yells as he follows Sam and Arashi in the direction the trio had gone. They skid to a stop when they encounter two more broken bottles on the forest floor, the remnants of Dean and Akira’s Molotov cocktails. Arashi and Sam quickly scan the surrounding trees with wide eyes, calling loudly for their siblings/friends.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Say, uh, Sam…Arashi…?”

The two men look from searching the forest floor, cocking their heads at the shy teen trailing behind them the last couple of minutes. It’d been the first time he’d spoken since all their siblings had been taken, although it seemed he had gotten over his shock a little. Ben glances down at his shoes as the two stand and Arashi moves a few paces head, staring out at the surrounding forest with his face screwed up deeply in concentration.

“You all said the wendigo keeps it’s victims alive, so…uh, why…did it kill Roy back there?”

Sam moves up alongside him, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket as he watches Arashi survey the forest, “Honestly, it could have been because Roy was shooting at it. They get really pissed off when someone tries to shoot or stab them.”

Ben nods his head slowly and suddenly notices something off color on the ground just a few feet ahead. He stops and crouches down, picking a peanut M&M up from the forest floor before glancing up to see a trail of them leading off into the brush. Standing once more, he shows the candy to Sam, pointing in the direction the trail was leading as Sam takes the M&M from him.

“Looks like they went this way.” He said as Sam chuckled softly, examining the yellow candy for a moment, bemused.

“Well, at least these are more reliable than breadcrumbs.” He said, tossing the candy away as they begin to follow the trail, Arashi already a half dozen steps in front of them, obviously having seen the candies as well. After about an hour, the trio comes upon the entrance to a mine. It’s mostly boarded up, with a sign reading WARNING! DANGER! EXTREMELY DANGEROUS MATERIAL, DO NOT ENTER! Just above the entrance is another sign: KEEP OUT, NO ADMITTANCE! The trio all look at one another and Arashi shrugs as he ducks inside while Ben follows and Sam takes up the rear.

Sunlight filters into the mine shaft through cracks in the wood covering the entrance, providing some light for the three men as they follow the iron and wood tracks leading deeper into the mountain. Arashi and Sam pull out their flashlights as they begin to leave the sunlight behind them, shining them around on the stony floor and wet, dirt walls, held up by old, wooden frames to keep the mine from collapsing in on itself, the occasional hole filtering in minimal sunlight from outside as a slow, dripping noise echoes around them.

Arashi takes the lead as they walk along the damp wall, carefully placing one foot in front of the other as he listens for any other sound aside from the dripping of water and his companion’s breathing just behind him. Ben follows at a close range, blowing warm, frantic breath against the back of his neck as Sam isn’t too far behind. A low, raspy voice suddenly resonates through Arashi’s mind and he slows his pace, holding out an arm behind him to tell Ben and Sam to stay behind him as he listens.

“Hm…those new pieces of meat should keep me fed for a while…” Arashi held his breath, willing the voice to continue as he peers down the tunnel, motioning to Sam to turn off his flashlight as the voice seems to get closer and a low growl echoes toward them. The flashlights are turns off and Arashi backs Ben into the wall behind them, his arm on his chest as Sam has a firm, yet gentle, grasp on his elbow, “Must find those other men though…then I will have enough food to get me through my next hibernation. The boy should be easy enough to take, but those two hunters….they will need to be separated.”

A tall, shadowy figure comes walking slowly up the tunnel toward them and Arashi can feel Ben tense behind him and begin to shake. Sam hurriedly clamps a hand over his mouth before he can attempt to scream while the three try to squash themselves against the wall as best they can, watching the Wendigo draw closer; Arashi listens quietly around the roar in his ears as the creature’s mind is hard at work formulating a plan to capture them next, even as it turns down a different tunnel at the crossing just ahead. The trio slowly relax then, their hearts racing in their chests as they slowly relax, Arashi and Sam slowly releasing Ben.

“We need to hurry and get the others, that thing’s already planning on coming after us next.” Arashi whispered to Sam over his shoulder as they carefully advance forward, slowly approaching the crossing at which the Wendigo had disappeared. Sam nods quietly as they step onto some old, worn floorboards that make up the crossroads, which creak and bend under their weight. A loud crack rents the air then and the trio falls through the floor into the tunnel below, where they land among a pile of bones. Ben pushes himself up from the floor, rubbing his arm where he’d landed on an old ribcage when he spots a pile of skulls nearby and gives a noise of fright, scrambling backward. Sam and Arashi hurriedly move back with him, catching the teen by the arms as they tried to calm him down.

Taking his flashlight from his waistband, Arashi turns it on briefly and shines it around the hole they’d fallen into until the beam lands on the trio hanging by their wrists from the ceiling. It’s Dean, Haley, and Akira, all of them looking as though they’d been scratched up and knocked out cold by that monster. Sam, Ben, and Arashi scramble to their sides and try to wake them up.

“Hey, Akira…Akira!” Arashi shakes his sister, jolting her awake and making her look around with wide, panicked eyes as she thrashed against him; a strange, yet solid force suddenly crashes into Arashi, throwing him backward into the opposite wall as she falls to her knees on the ground. He blinks quickly and shakes his head, feeling like he’s just been hit by a truck as he looks at his twin sister in surprise. “Aki, Akira!” He stumbles back over to her, quickly catching her shoulders and yanking her around to look him in the face, “Look, look at me! It’s me, it’s Arashi!” he cupped her face as she stares at him, realization slowly dawning on her as she blinks, “It’s just me, Aki, you’re okay…you’re gonna be okay…He didn’t…did he hurt you? Are you all right?”

Akira gulps thickly and nods as Arashi helps her over to where Ben and Sam have moved Haley and Dean onto an empty patch of ground, staring around at the bones on the rest of the floor as Haley hurriedly frees herself from her rope and Dean is grunting in pain. Arashi hugs Akira tight, sighing shakily in relief that she was in one piece before he pulls away, looking toward their best friends to make sure Dean was okay as well. Dean was grimacing slightly, but still seemed to be in one piece himself.

“I’m fine, Sammy…” he was just telling Sam, taking in their surroundings now as well, “Where is he?”

“The wendigo’s gone for now, he’s gone to find Sam, Ben, and I.” Arashi explained quietly, helping Akira to her feet, “We should get out of here, quick.”

“Oh my god!” Haley’s voice catches the group’s attention and they quickly turn around, half expecting the wendigo, only to spot another man hanging from the ceiling not feet away. Haley approaches him quickly, choking out his name as she cups his cheek. The man, Tom, jolts and jerks away from her, looking around in a panic as though thinking he was being attacked; Haley leaps backward in response, giving a shriek of surprise before covering her mouth as Arashi moves to her side to cut him down, supporting Tom between Akira and himself. Tom seems to calm a little with the realization he’s being rescued as he looks dazedly at Akira.

“…are you an angel?” he whispered out, blinking slowly as Akira raised her eyebrows in surprise, then blushed faintly and gave a small, timid smile. Arashi snickers.

“Buddy, I’d wait until you’ve seen her first thing in the morning before you ask that question.” He joked, giving a small grunt as Akira punched him in the shoulder, glaring playfully while he grinned teasingly at her.

“Hey guys.” The twins look around at Dean, who’s crouched in a corner, where the stole supplies are piled high, nearly to the ceiling. He picks up a couple of flare guns and shows them off. “Check these out.”

Sam and Arashi both grin big as Akira smiles, nodding, “Hm, how fortuitous.” She sighed in relief as Dean handed Sam one of the guns and twirled his own, “C’mon, let’s get going before the wendigo traps us down here.”

Sam, Dean, and Arashi all nod and, after making sure Haley and Ben can support Tom, who has a limp and is still slightly delirious from the whole experience, they group carefully makes their way out of the den in which they’re being kept, creeping out into the tunnels. Sam takes the lead with Akira as Dean and Arashi cover the trio from behind, glancing behind them every now and again to be sure the wendigo didn’t try to come up behind them.

“Wait…” Akira stops the group as she hears a soft, faint voice in the distance, growling, furious, as it discovers it’s meal is missing. She glances back the way they came, paling a little, “I think it’s back…”

“She’s right, I can hear him, too…” Arashi whispered as he stared intently into the darkness behind them, “Unfortunately, with that speed of his and Tom’s twisted ankle, we won’t have much a chance of outrunning this guy….” He looks slowly at Dean, who nods as they both glance at Sam and Akira.

“The two of you thinking what we’re thinking?”

The two exchange a glance and nod together as they look back at their brothers, who return the nod and look at their charges, “Okay, you three listen to us, go with Sam and Akira, they’re going to get you out of here.”

Haley looks back at them, wide-eyed, “B-but, what’re you two…?

“Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine.” Arashi tells her with a grin as Dean winks and they hurry down a side tunnel, yelling to draw the wendigo toward them. Sam and Akira wait a while until both men’s voices are indiscernible before turning back to the Collinses.

“C’mon, let’s go!” Akira says quickly as she ushers the three in front of her while Sam continues to lead the way down the tunnel. She chances a glance behind her, listening intently for the wendigo’s inner voice as she hurries along behind them, occasionally catching snippets of Dean or Arashi’s voices through the maze.

A short while later, a growl echoes throughout the tunnels, making all of them tense as they take a quick look at the shadows around them while Akira tries to hear which direction the wendigo’s voice will come from. It hisses at her, buzzing in her skull like a swarm of angry wasps, making it difficult for her to be able to pinpoint where it was coming from. Sam points the flare gun in the direction he thinks the growl had come from, glancing over his shoulder at the Collinses.

“Go, get Tom out of here.” He told them, cutting Haley off before she can protest as she looks beseechingly at him, “There’s no time to argue, go!”

Haley stares at him for a moment before finally conceding and hurrying Tom along the mine shaft toward the entrance. Sam turns back down the tunnel he believes the growl had come from as Akira moves up alongside him, staring off in another direction. He clicks the safety off the flare gun, ready to shoot as he wills the wendigo to come, although both young adults seize when a growl sounds behind them and they whirl around. The wendigo stands right behind them.

Sam takes the shot, but the flare flies past the wendigo, embedding itself into the wall as he tries to grab Akira’s arm, but misses. She pushes him away as the wendigo tries to take a swipe at him, making him stumble in the direction the Collinses had gone.

“Run Sam! Get the Collins to safety, now!” she yelled as he looked back at her with wide, disbelieving eyes as the wendigo whirled on her now, snarling. She hurriedly turned to the creature, throwing an arm up to deflect the clawed hand coming down on her as her free hands grips it’s other wrist tightly. She can hear it’s inner monologue, wondering what the hell was going on as she seemed to be restraining it as it tried to bear down on her, her heart sinking in her chest as what little light in the tunnel glinted off a set of sharp, razor like teeth just inches from her face. She hurriedly planted her feet and pushed back against the creature, surprising both it and herself as she managed to make it take a few, forced steps backward, her face screwing up in concentration as she tried to keep it from pinning he back against the wall. Her fingers tightened around it’s lean, leathery hands and she jerked one hand sharply, a crack renting the air as she snapped the wendigo’s wrist; it let loose a piercing, pained howl, it’s own concentration faltering enough to where she could push hard enough until she made it’s own arms smack into it’s chest with enough force to throw it several yards back down the tunnel. It landed with a wet thud on the floor and almost immediately rolled back onto it’s hands and toes, letting loose a vicious, angry snarl as it whirled to look at her again while she took a few steps back, panting heavily.

“Shit…” she whispered, turning tail and taking off down the tunnel after Sam and the Collinses; the wendigo’s right behind her, it’s snarl thunder in her ears as all it can think of now is to snap her in half just like she’d snapped it’s wrist. She rounds a corner to the dead end in which Sam and the Collinses have gotten themselves trapped, Sam standing with the trio shielded behind him as sharp claws slice into her arms. She cries out in pain and flails as the wendigo lifts her off her feet, struggling in it’s grip to get away as she can feel rancid breath on her neck.

“Akira!” Sam cries, watching powerlessly as the creature has her in it’s grip and readies to tear her apart. There’s an angry shout as the wendigo is grabbed from behind, bones cracking loudly as it’s arms are jerked and broken under it’s attacker’s grip. Akira is unceremoniously dropped to the floor and she quickly scrambles away until Sam can grab her by the arm and haul her back behind him with the Collinses while they watch Arashi manhandle the wendigo as Dean’s voice can be heard from the other end of the tunnel. Arashi manages to jerk the wendigo around to face his best friend, who’s waiting for the perfect moment with the flare gun cocked and ready. He takes the shot.

The flare embeds itself in the wendigo’s stomach a split second after Arashi releases him and leaps backward. The group watches with morbid fascination as he creature’s stomach lights up with fire, which quickly spreads throughout the rest of it’s body, turning it’s pale, leathery skin a bright orange and then a dark, ashy black as it goes up in flames, giving one final cry before collapsing into a smoldering pile on the floor.

Dean lowers the flare, smiling, as Arashi gives a sigh of relief and Sam exchanges a grin with Akira, “Not bad, huh?” he chuckles, exchanging a congratulatory fist bump with his best friend as the Collinses look on in tired relief.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Upon escaping tunnels, the group makes a direct beeline for the ranger station, which is the closet thing to the ridge. Arriving around sunset, the rangers immediately set to calling an ambulance for Tom and begin questioning the group on what had happened out in the woods. Of course, by then, they’ve all already cooked up a convincing story to tell the rangers without making them think they were bat-shit crazy. When the ambulance arrives with a police car in tow, the officers question the group about the events out in the woods as well and they have to reiterate their story.

By the time the last of the questions are being asked and Tom is loaded into the back of the ambulance, the twins had moved to sit in the open door of Akira’s van, watching as Sam is helping Ben convince the officers that they’d been attacked by a large bear while Dean shamelessly flirts with Haley over by the Impala. Akira thanks the paramedic that had been patching her up and nods as she takes her leave while Arashi rubs her back gently, asking if she was all right for what felt like the billionth time.

“Ara, I’m fine, really.” Akira told him, giving her brother a gentle smile, “I promise, they’re just a couple of scratches.”

“Wendigo scratches.” Arashi reminded her in a low whisper, chuckling as she gently shoved his shoulder with her hand, a smile on her lips, “By the way, what the hell did you do back there to piss that son of a bitch off so badly?”

Akira ran her fingers through her hair, nervously avoiding his eye, “I’d tried to distract him so Sam could help Haley and Ben get Tom out of the mine. And, I don’t know, somehow I managed to grab it’s arms to stop it from clawing me to ribbons or pinning me to the wall. What really pissed him off, though, was when I snapped his wrist.”

“You snapped a wendigo’s wrist?” Arashi asked in astonishment, raising an eyebrow slowly as she nodded, “Yeah, I don’t….I really don’t know how I could’ve possibly done something like that. Hell, I don’t even know how I was able to fend the thing off like I did…”

Arashi is silent a moment as he looks over to where Haley and Ben are saying goodbye to Sam and Dean. Ben nods goodbye to them, smiling faintly in thanks before he headed for the ambulance while Haley kisses Dean on the cheek, smiling at him gratefully at well and saying something they were too far to hear.

“You know, what happened back there…it was probably our supernatural blood kicking in….” he told her as they watched Haley and Ben climb into the back of the ambulance while the paramedics close the back doors. Akira nods, sighing, “How many powers does that make so far, two?” she asked, reaching back into the van to pull the little notepad out from her bag once more, adding their super strength to the list, underneath telepathy. Arashi leans over for a look, “No, I think there was more than that, like three.” Akira quirked a brow at him, frowning, “I think you might have telekinesis, too, Aki, don’t you remember what happened when we first found you, Dean, and Haley? You basically threw me across the room without touching me.”

Akira blinked a little in surprise as the memory returned to her and she nods slowly, writing telekinesis down as well, although she puts a question mark in parentheses next to it, just in case, and fits the pen behind her ear, frowning.

“With all we’re uncovering, I really hope we find Uncle John soon and figure out who exactly we are…” Akira sighed slowly, playing with a strand of hair that fell over her shoulder as she stared at the four words written on the pad in her hand. Arashi gently takes her hand, squeezing gently and smiling.

“We’ll find him, some day.” Dean’s voice drew the twin’s attention as the sound of the ambulance sirens slowly faded into the distance while he and Sam came to lean against the side of the van on either side of them. Akira tucks the pad against her, looking quietly at Dean, who offers a smile, “Hey, don’t look so freaked out, Aki, I already figured something was going on when I saw Arashi wrestling that wendigo back there.”

Akira frowns at Arashi, who smiles sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck as Dean folds his arms over his chest, looking at the two of them.

“I just hope the two of you know I would sooner shoot myself then you.”

The twins look at him in surprise, blinking together, as Dean gives a small chuckle at their expressions, “Look guys, I don’t know exactly what the hell is going on with the two of you, if you have psychic abilities or whatever or one of your birth parents did smack when they had you, but I do know this: you two are the best friends either Sam or I have known our entire lives and nothing is ever going to change that. We’ve all been together since we were kids, we’ve been through too much for something like this to tear us apart, don’t you think?” he slaps Arashi on the back, “Whatever is giving the two of you these powers can’t be all that bad, anyway, it helped us defeat that wendigo.”

Arashi and Akira both smile faintly and nod, “Yeah….we still don’t know how to completely control it. First we need to figure out what exactly we have and figure out how to hone it…” Akira sighed, looking back down at the notepad in her hand once more, “It would just make it a little easier if we knew where they came from, but the only one who would know something like that is Uncle John…”

“Well, we already know that one.” Dean pointed out, gently rustling Akira’s hair, making her smile and swat his hand away playfully, glaring at him, “Our dad’s got to be out there somewhere and, once we find him, we’ll be able to figure all this out. Where the two of you came from and wherever that bastard is that killed Jessica.” He looked gently at Sam, squeezing his arm gently. “We just gotta keep looking, right?”

Akira looked at Sam and smiled with him as Arashi grinned, nodding, “Hell yeah and none of us are going to give up until we find him.”

“Right.” Akira nods, flipping the notepad closed as she got to her feet, stashing it in her pocket, “Well, we won’t get very far just sitting around here, let’s get going. Oh, and,” she shooed Arashi out of the back of the van to slide the door closed, looking between the three men, “I hope all of you know that camping is not an option anymore.”

“We’re good with that.” Sam agreed as Dean and Arashi nodded themselves. Akira smiles and goes around the van to the driver’s side as Arashi climbs in the passenger side and Dean tosses Sam the keys to the Impala so he can drive. The twins quirk a brow curiously and exchange a look, knowing Dean didn’t like anyone else driving his car, ever.

“Hm, I guess the kid’s growing up.” Akira joined, starting up the van as Arashi chuckles softly, bemused, and nods, buckling himself in as she drives them away from the ranger’s station. The Impala follows them out onto the road as they put Lost Creek in their rearview mirrors.


	4. Dead In The Water

 

The Winchesters and twins have moved onto a hotel just outside Wisconsin, named Lynnwood Inn. With the Impala and van parked out in front of the entrance, Sam and Akira are packing their bags into their vehicles as they discussed what their next step was going to be. Dean and Arashi are inside the restaurant attached to the hotel, going over the obituaries in the local newspaper as they finish up the last of their breakfast.

Arashi sets his newspaper down as he finishes his coffee, watching Dean circle an obituary that reads: Carlton, Sophie – The Carlton family sadly announces the death of their beloved eighteen-year-old daughter, Sophie Carlton, in a tragic swimming accident. During her usual morning swim in Lake Manitoc, WI, she suddenly….

Footsteps approach the counter where the two are having breakfast and a young attractive blond waitress with a nametag reading ‘Wendy’ leans on the counter in front of them, leaning forward so her half covered chest is displayed to them.

“Can I get either of you anything else?” she asked, cocking her head cutely, making both of them look up; Dean grins broadly around the pen he’s chewing on and Arashi leans back in his chair as he looks Wendy up and down, smirking. Chair legs scrap the polished floor on either side of them as Sam and Akira join them.

“Could we just get the check, please?” Akira asked with a kind smile. Wendy looks at her, nodding, as she gathers Arashi and Dean’s dishes together.

“No problem.” She said, taking the dishes away. Dean drops his head in exasperation as Arashi sighs, rolling his head back before looking at their siblings.

“Thanks for that Aki.” He said sarcastically, crossing his arms while she rolled her eyes. “You and Dean can have fun some other time, Shi, you and Dean’re supposed to be looking for our next job.”

“Seems a bit too easy for either of you anyway, doesn’t she?” Sam continued, eyeing Wendy as she’s serving some of the other costumers at one end of the bar; her shorts are tiny enough that they barley seem to cover her ass.

“It’s still fun.” Dean argued, sighing as he dropped his own newspaper onto the table, frowning at the two now as well. “And we are allowed to have fun every once in a while. Don’t pull the rug out from under us just because neither of you can get any.”

“Winchester, I will smack you with the thickest book I can find.” Akira tells him, crossing her arms tightly over her chest as she glared at Dean. Arashi waves a hand, dispersing the tension.

“All right, break it up.” He picked up the newspaper and handed it to Sam to see the obituary Dean had circled. “Let’s see if we can’t blow off any steam with the job Dean’s found.” He watches Sam pick up the newspaper to read the obituary, “Drowning in Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Happened just last week to a young eighteen-year-old woman by the name of Sophie Carlton. She walked into the lake, but didn’t walk out again. The authorities dragged the water, but couldn’t find a trace of her. She was the third drowning in Lake Manitoc in the last year. None of the bodies were ever found. Held a funeral for Sophie just a couple days ago.”

“A funeral with no body?” Akira frowned, furrowing her brows, getting up to look over Sam’s shoulder at the newspaper, “Hm, well, I guess everyone needs closer in one way or another…but to bury an empty coffin…? Bit of a waste of resources, isn’t it…?”

“It kinda is….” Sam agreed, handing the paper over to Akira, “But it doesn’t make much sense to have closure like this when someone’s just disappeared so completely. People don’t disappear….they just aren’t being looked for anymore.”

Dean wet his lips and inhales slowly, frowning as he turned to look at his brother, frowning, “There something you want to say to me?”

Sam sighed softly, frowning himself, “The trail we’ve been following to try and find dad….it’s been getting colder every day.”

“Yeah, and? You have any suggestions for what we should do about it?” Dean quirked a brow; Sam glanced away quietly, pursing his lips tightly without answering. Dean sighed, “Look man, I’m getting real sick of this attitude of your’s. You really think I don’t wanna find dad just as much as you do?”

“No, I know you do, but –“ Sam started, only to have Dean wave him off, frowning at him.

“Look Sam, Arashi and I’re the ones who’ve been with dad practically every single day the last two years while you and Akira’ve been having fun at your college pep rallies. We will find him, some way or another, but until we do, we’ve just got to kill everything and anything bad that comes our way. All right?”

Sam sighs slowly and rolls his eyes as Wendy walks past, distracting Dean and Arashi. Akira sighed herself and shook her head.

“All right….we’re going to Lake Manitoc. C’mon horn dogs.” She got to her feet and dragged the two men out of the diner as Sam paid their bill and followed them out.

The four young adults are underway not too long after that as they head into Wisconsin; the sky stretches in a wide cyan blanket overhead, decorated with patches of thin wispy clouds. A cool breeze wafts into the Impala and the van as they drive with the windows rolled down, letting it play with their hair. Arashi watches as they pass by an Inn with a clothesline draped in large white sheets that’re fluttering in the wind. A short time later, they cross a bridge, where a man sits on the railing, fishing and, about an hour after that, they pass a sign reading ‘Welcome to Lake Manitoc, WI.’

The vehicles soon pull up in front of the Carlton household, an older single story lake house painted black, built just on the edge of the lake itself.

Approaching the front door, Dean has the honor of announcing their presence by knocking. A few moments pass before a young man answers, looking curiously between the four of them with raised eyebrows. Arashi greets him warmly, already reaching into his pocket to pull out his ID.

“Hey, we’re with the US Wildlife Service. I’m Agent Gefferoy, this is Agent Smith.” He indicates his sister, then the Winchestes, “And our partners, Agents Ford and Hamill.” He and Dean present their IDs, “Are you Will Carlton?”

Will passes his gaze over both IDs, then looks back up at the men, nodding, “Yeah, that’s right. Can I help you officers?”

“Yes, actually.” Akira clears her throat with a kind smile, her head cocked slightly, “We’re here to ask you a few questions about your sister’s drowning in the lake.”

Will lifted his chin a little in understanding before giving a small nod, a tight expression on his face as he swallows thickly, Adam’s apple bobbing with the effort, eyes hazed with pain.

“Right, of course…uh…I can show you around back.” He steps out of the house and closes the door behind him before leading the way around back to where the lake was. An old wooden dock is built a couple of yards into the water, a single bench perch just on the edge where an older gentleman sits, staring blankly out over the placid water as though in a trace, his hands clasped tightly in front of him while he leans forward. If any of the hunters had to guess, they would say that was probably Will’s father, Bill still trying to absorb what has happened to his daughter.

“Sophie was just about a hundred yards out in the lake…” Will said, nodding toward the middle of the lake, which reflected back a perfect mirror image of the sky and treetops. “I was about there that she got dragged down by something…”

“Are we sure it wasn’t just a regular drowning?” Arashi looked at Will, quirking a brow as he shook his head adamantly.

“No, couldn’t’ve been…Sohpie was a varsity swimmer….” He sighed out slowly, looking wistfully out at the water with his arms crossed loosely over his chest, “And she practically grew up in that lake…couldn’t’ve been anymore danger for her out there than if she was swimming in our bathtub.”

“So…during the attack, before she drowned…” Sam started slowly, his eyes scanning the surface of the lake quietly in thought, “You didn’t notice any splashing or signs of distress?” he turned to gauge Will’s reaction, eyebrows raised curiously as he shook his head once more, his eyebrows pinching thoughtfully.

“No….that’s the weird part…we didn’t see or hear anything until it was too late….” He glanced down as Akira shifted her weight and crossed her own arms, glancing over the water herself.

“So, neither you nor your dad saw any shadows just beneath the surface or saw anything breach?” she asked softly, frowning while Will sighed.

“No….and even if we had seen anything, Sophie was too far out for us to be able to….”

“Hm….and after this incident, did either of you notice any strange tracks coming out of the lake or up around the shoreline?”

Will shook his head once more, furrowing his brow deeply as he looked between the four of them, “No, I….why?” his face tightened in realization as he let their words sink in, “Do…do any of you think there might be something out there?” his voice pitched a little higher, betraying his fear at the thought. Arashi smile reassuringly, patting his back.

“Well, we’re not quite sure yet, but we’ll figure it out and let you know as soon as we do.” He promised, nodding to Will as he and Dean started to head back around the house to the cars while Akira extended one of their business cards so he could call them if something strange were to show up. Sam was watching the lake once more, letting his gaze sweep momentarily over Bill before returning his attention to the man’s son.

“Would your father be up to answering a few questions as well?” he asked, nodding toward him as Dean and Arashi stop, glancing back with identical frowns on their faces. Will glances toward his father momentarily before turning back to him with a small shake of his head, his lips twist upward in apology.

“No, I really don’t think he’s up for something like that and I would really rather you didn’t push it…I mean…” he sighed and rubbed his neck slowly, glancing down, then back up again, “He has been through a lot, you know….and I don’t think he’d be able to give much information even if he had seen anything.”

Sam nodded his head in understanding, “We understand.”

“Thank you, Will.” Akira said gratefully as she followed Sam away from the lake and back toward the cars with their brothers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Their next stop was at the police station in town, where they requested to speak with Sheriff Jake Devins. One of the deputies lets them in and the four go to talk with Sheriff Devins, who’s talking with another police officer not too far in and looks up at them as they pull out their IDs and ask if they can have a few minutes of his time. He eyes each of the young adults cautiously before giving a small nod of approval and excusing himself to lead them to his office in the back.

“Is there something wrong up with the Wildlife Service?” he asked as he indicated them to sit in the chairs in front of his desk while he sat in front of them, resting his hands on one knee. Akira takes a seat with Sam, each of them leaned forward to speak as Dean and Arashi stand behind them. The sheriff looks between each of them once more, still frowning thoughtfully, “I wouldn’t’ve thought they would be interested in an accidental drowning incident like this.”

“Well, that’s kind of why we’re here.” Akira said, cocking her head as she met Devins’ gaze respectfully, folding her hands in front of her, “You see, there are some who think that the drowning wasn’t really accidental at all, that maybe it had been something else…we just went to speak to Will Carlton before we came to speak with you, sheriff, and he says he saw something grab his sister while she was out in the lake.”

Devins gives Akira a disbelieving look, frowning his thick eyebrows deeply and crossing his arms slowly with his lips, “Oh really? And what could he have seen? I have lived in this town all my life and not once have we seen any indigenous carnivores out in that lake.” Akira looks quietly at Sam, who shifts a little to get comfortable in his chair, “And besides, even if there was, there isn’t even anything big enough to pull a person down, not unless we’ve got Nessie out here on vacation.”

Arashi suppresses a snort and a chuckle, nodding, “Yeah, that would be quite the sight to see, wouldn’t it?” he acted as though he was a sunbather on the beach, both hands behind his head, “Nessie sprawled out on the lakeshore with a pair of sunglasses and a iced tea.”

Dean coughed into his fist to suppress his own laughter as Sam and Akira glance incredulously back at them, raising their eyebrows together. Their brothers soon straightened and cleared their throats sheepishly as Devins looks on with a frown, eyebrows furrowing even more at the two alleged ‘Wildlife officers’.

“Yeah, it would be….” He said slowly, eyeing both men before he shook his head and cleared his own throat, turning back to the duo sitting before his desk, “But, anyway, Will Carlton was obviously traumatized by the incident and during such events the mind can play tricks on you….but even so…” he leans heavily back into his chair, running a slow hand down his face, “We searched that entire lake and even did a sonar scan, just so we knew we didn’t miss anything, and I can assure all of you that there is absolutely nothing down there.”

“Yeah, but, that just makes it all the stranger, doesn’t it?” Dean pointed out, his hands resting casually in the pockets of his pants as he cocked his head, lips pushed out in thought, “I mean, a person doesn’t just disappear so completely, do they? Especially not three in a single year.”

Devins nodded slowly in agreement, lacing his fingers together and leaning his nose against his hands, frowning thoughtfully to himself, ‘No, they don’t…and it’s quite upsetting, if you ask me. I mean, there are people from my own town, people I’ve known and cared about for years…”

Akira gave Devins an empathetic look, understanding how he must feel as Sam sighed softly, frowning while Devins sighs himself.

“But, anyway….” He rubbed his chin with one of his thumbs, looking up at them once more with a small smile on the edges of his lips, “None of this should really be a problem for much longer…”

The four frowned and cocked their heads together as Arashi inquired as to what the sheriff meant. He gave a small shrug, leaning back once more.

“I mean the dam, naturally.”

Dean bobbed his head slowly in understanding, smiling a little, “Oh yes, the dam, right, it’s, uh, it’s sprung a leak, hasn’t it?”

“More than that.” Devins shook his head slowly, almost in a tired fashion, “The entire thing’s falling apart and the feds won’t give us the grant we need to be able to repair it, so, we’ve decided to open the spillway. By this time next year, there won’t be much of a lake left, or a town even, for that matter….” He eyed the four young adults before him once more, “But then, I’m sure you’ve all heard about that already, haven’t you, officers?”

“Oh yeah, of course we have.” Arashi said with a charming smile just as there was a knock on the office door, drawing the group’s attention to the young woman leaning in, holding a lunchbox in one hand as she surveys the scene, a sheepish smile on her lips.

“Not interrupting, am I?” she asked as Akira and Sam get to their feet, turning fully to face her as she looks between all of them before focusing her gaze on Devins, “I can come back later.”

Devins cleared his throat, “Officers this is my daughter.”

“Pleasure to meet you, miss.” Arashi said brightly, “I’m Arashi.”

Andrea takes Arashi’s hand and shakes it with a small smile and a nod, “Hi, Andrea Barr.”

Arashi nodded and looked Andrea up and down as she shook Dean’s hand next, then Akira, and finally, Sam’s. Devins tells Andrea that the four are with the Wildlife Services, come to find out about the lake. Andrea lifts her chin a little in surprise, eyebrow arching as a frown crosses her lips.

“Ah…” she said slowly as a young boy, only about ten, maybe elven-years-old, walks up beside her, peering in the office with an unreadable expression on his faces while he looks between each of the adults. Arashi and Dean spot him and smile kindly, cocking their heads in greeting.

“Well, hello there. What’s your name, champ?” both men ask at the same time, still smiling. The young boy looks quietly at the two of them, then slips back out of the office without a word. Andrea excuses herself and follows after him while Devins sighs.

“His name is Lucas.” He tells them dispondently as they watch the mother and son through the clear glass walls of the office. Lucas has found a seat near the front of the station, where he pulls out several scraps of paper from the backpack slung over his shoulder while Andrea hands him some crayons out of a box she’s carrying. Akira cocked her head in concern as Sam asked Devins if Lucas was all right.

“Lucas has been through a lot recently, just as we all have…” the older man told them quietly as he got up from his desk and moved past them to the office door, indicating the four out before him, “Well, officers, if that’s it for now, please excuse me, I have a lot to do. But if any of you have anything else for me to do, please, don’t hesitate to call.”

With a collective nod, the ‘rangers’ lead the way to where Andrea and Lucas are sitting, Dean turning to face Devins once more as a thought came to mind.

“Actually, there is one thing you could tell us.” He grinned a little, “Is there any reasonably priced motels around here where we could lay our weary heads?”

“Try Lakefront Motel.” Andrea told them as she looked up from watching Lucas draw, giving a small smile, “It’s just around the corner from here, just take a couple of blocks south.”

Dean looks at her and feigns ignorance of direction, “It’s two…you know, uh, actually, would you mind showing us exactly where to go?” he cocked his head cutely, pulling an amused laugh from the woman, who quirked a brow quizzically.

“You want me to walk two blocks with the four of you?” she asked disbelievingly, smiling faintly, bemused. Dean shrugged a little as Arashi chuckles, patting his back.

“Not if it’s an inconvenience for you, miss.” He tells her earnestly; Andrea shook her head, still smiling as she got to her feet, “Nah, I’m headed that way anyway.” She tells them before turning to her father to give him a kiss on the cheek, “I’ll be back at three to pick up Lucas, daddy.” She promised, earning a gentle smile and nod in return while she gave her son a kiss as well, “And when I get back, we’ll go the park, all right, sweetie?” she told him gently, gently brushing some hair out of his face as he glances up for a brief second to nod before returning to his drawing.

Holding the door for Andrea and Dean, Arashi gives a nod and heads out after them as Sam and Akira thank Devins and follow.

The walk from the police station to the hotel isn’t far, just a couple of blocks like Andrea said. They’re crossing a street when Dean and Arashi start talking to Andrea about Lucas, telling her he seemed like a cute kid and then babbling on about how children are the best. Andrea gives the two men a withering look, but doesn’t say anything as they come to a stop before the Lakefront Hotel, missing the smack to the back of the head Arashi received from his sister just before she turned around.

“Well, this is it.” She announced, quirking a brow at Arashi and Dean as the former rubbed at his head, grimacing slightly, “Like I said, just a couple of blocks.”

Akira gives her a grateful smile, inclining her head, “Thank you Andrea, we really appreciate it.” She said earnestly, holding back a laugh as Andrea turns back to address Dean and Arashi one more.

“No problem, I’m sure with the terrible sense of direction these two have,” she indicated the duo, “None of you would’ve even been able to find your way to a decent pickup line.”

Sam and Akira exchange amused looks as Andrea leaves, telling them to have a good stay over one shoulder as she does so. Both parties wait until she’s gone before turning to address their siblings with raised eyebrows.

“Well, that had to be one of the most painful things I’ve ever seen in my entire life. And I’ve seen both of you take a brick to the face and/or groin.” Akira sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing both men disdainfully with set lips. Both smile faintly as Sam points out that neither of them are even really into kids, causing them to scoff.

“Oh please, we love children!” They argued stubbornly, making Akira roll her eyes, “Fine then, give us the names of three children each of you know individually.” She challenged, raising her eyebrows as both open their mouths to retort only to come up empty. Sam and Akira then shake their heads and sigh, each waving a hand dismissively as they head for the front office of the motel. Dean looks after them, scratching his head as Arashi frowns.

“We’re working on it!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A short time after this, the four are settling into their adjoining rooms. While Sam and Akira have set up shop at the table in Sam and Dean’s room, Arashi is putting clothes away next door and Dean is sorting through his, presumably to figure out which garments needed to be washed.

After a short bout of silence through which Sam and Akira pour over old news reports of the lake, they inform Dean that the three lake drownings this year weren’t the only ones the town had seen. One article they pull up is from a newspaper called The Lake Manitoc Tribune, with the lead line Ice Fishing Festival Tainted by Drowning. Sam checks the next page and gently nudges Akira, pointing to the next article that had been in the Tribune as well. This article reads: 12-year-old Girl Drowns in Lake, Second Drowning in the last six months at Lake Manitoc.

“It looks like they’ve been at least six morning drownings here, spread out over the last thirty-five years. None of the bodies were ever found.” She frowned, leaning her head on Sam’s shoulder for a better look, “If there could be a creature out in that lake, it’s pulling in victims faster than before…”

Dean tosses several articles of clothing into two separate piles and presses another to his nose to sniff, wrinkling his nose, “Sounds like we’ve got some kinda lake monster on a binge….”

“It doesn’t sound like any regular kind of lake monster, though, and that’s what bugs me…” Sam murmured with a frown, rubbing his chin, “I mean, with other lake monsters, Loch Ness, um, Lake Champlain, they’ve literally had hundreds of eyewitness accounts.”

“And yet we have zitlch here.” Arashi piped in as he poked his head through the connecting door, brushing the bangs out of his face as he joins the rest of his team. “Especially since no one’s come out of that lake alive or dead….”

Akira pats Sam’s arm to tell him to stop as they reach the comments section of one of the articles, pointing to one name she recognized as Dean peeked over his brother’s other shoulder, frowning.

“Christopher Barr….Barr….I feel like I’ve heard that name before…”

“It looks like he was the drowning victim of May…” Sam pointed out as Arashi raised his eyebrows a little.

“Wait, Barr? As in Andrea and Lucas Barr?” he asked as he joined the others at the table, peering over the top of Akira’s head at the screen as Sam clicks on a link to another article. This one was entilted: Local Man In Tragic Accident. Just below is a picture of a police officer standing alongside Lucas, who’s wrapped up in a large towel with his hair sticking wetly to his face and neck. Akira frowned.

“Let’s see….says here Christopher was Andrea’s husband and Lucas’s father. Apparently the day he died, he took Lucas out swimming. The police didn’t find Lucas until two hours after his dad drowned while he was out floating on a wooden platform in the middle of the lake….”

“Hm, looks like we have an eyewitness after all.” Dean pushed his bottom lip out thoughtfully as he stood straight while Sam scratched his head, frowning and Akira clicked on the picture for a better look. An empathetic look crossed Arashi’s face then as he straightened himself out as well, furrowing his brows.

“Yeesh, no wonder why the kid was so freaked out…” he muttered, crossing his arms tightly, “I would be, too, if I had to watch one of my parents die right in front of me….”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The group heads out toward the local park not too long after this to find Andrea and Lucas. It was still early afternoon, so the park was bustling with activity; children were busy playing on the play scape, shouting and laughing as they swung from the monkey bars and slid down the slides. One was spinning the merry-go-round as a few others held on while the seesaw and chains on the swings squeaked loudly in the cold autumn air.

Andrea is soon found sitting on a bench just on the edge of a playground, watching over Lucas from a distance as he’s commandeered one of the picnic tables, where pads of paper are laid out around a crayon box and several plastic green toy soldiers.

Akira clears her throat as they approach and gives Andrea a gentle smile as she turns around to look at them, “Hey, mind if we join you?”

She frowns and cocks her head curiously, wondering why they would be at a park like this when she thought they were working a case. She clears her own throat now, indicating toward Lucas, “I’m here with my son….”

Dean and Arashi look over to where the boy is coloring and they smile together as they look back at Andrea.

“Cool,” Arahsi shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, “You wouldn’t mind if we go say hi, would you?” he cocked his head, his smile widening as Andrea indicates for them to go ahead while he and Dean head over to join the kid. Andrea shakes her head after them, sighing, as she spoke to Sam and Akira now.

“I really hope your friends realize one of these days that the whole Jerry Maguire thing isn’t working on me.”

Akira gave Andrea a small smile as she sits beside her on the bench while Sam perches himself on the arm rest, watching their brothers.

“Hm, we’re pretty sure that isn’t what they’re trying for.” Akira told her, smiling faintly to herself, knowing that what Dean and Arashi were doing now was different from earlier. They weren’t just trying to get on Andrea’s good side anymore….they were honestly worried about Lucas, especially since they could understand what the kid was going though, having to go through watching his father drown at such young age, not to mention encountering something supernatural as well. Unless you were brought up around stuff like this, it was obviously going to have a lasting effect on you. And the four hunters understood that better than anyone.

“Hey.” Arashi smiles gently at Lucas as he sits carefully on the bench across the table from him, cocking his head, “How’s it going, little man?”

Lucas doesn’t look up or answer, just continues coloring as though neither man is even there. Dean steps up on the bench and sits on the edge of the table, observing the drawings strew over the surface curiously. There’s one of a big black swirl and another of a red bicycle. Dean cocks his head, then picks up one of the toy soldiers, smiling widely.

“Hey, we used to love playing with these things, remember Shi?” he nudged his best friend and imitates guns and explosions as Arashi chuckles and nods, doing it back at him with another of the toys. When this doesn’t elicit a response from Lucas, however, both of them set the toys aside, looking over the drawings again.

“Guess you’re not as into these as we were, but, that’s okay,” Dean shrugged a little, “Chicks really dig artists.”

Arashi hums his agreement as he leaves through the drawings laid out before him, smiling once more, “Hey, these’re quite good, Lucas. Would you mind if we just saw and drew with you for a bit?” he looks at Lucas, who still doesn’t respond, even as Dean and Arashi each pick up a crayon and piece of paper each, Dean bragging about his own art skills. A short stretch of silence stretches on between the trio as they focus on their drawings before Arashi spoke.

“Look, buddy, we know you can hear us, even if you don’t want to talk.” He looks empathetically at Lucas for a split second before returning his attention to his drawing once more, “And that’s fine, really….after all, we can’t exactly bring your dad back….but we do know that he didn’t die naturally….that something real bad happened to him out on the lake. Dean and I….we know how you feel…believe me, we’ve seen our fair share of things, especially when we were your age.”

Another stretch of silence while Dean sighed slowly.

“We just wanted you to know that, even if you think no one is going to listen or believe you…” he began, glancing up momentarily as well, “Well…we wanted you to know that we would…and, hey, you don’t even necessarily have to say anything, you could draw us a picture of what you saw the day you lost your dad…” he paused to let this sink in, then dropped his gaze once more when Lucas continued to ignore him, “All right, no problem. But, hey, these’re for you.”

He sets his picture down on the table next to Lucas, which shows four stick figures. He points to each, explaining that they were his family, his parents, younger brother, and himself. Arashi chuckles and shows his own picture, which just consists of three stick figures, which are himself, Akira, and Bobby. Lucas glances at them quietly, but still doesn’t speak. Dean and Arashi smile faintly in understanding.

“Well…we aren’t really the best aren’t the best artists, but we try…” Arashi scratched the back of his neck as he got up, “You should really see my sister, boy can she draw.” He cleared his throat as silence descended on them again, “But…anyway, we, uh…” he glanced at Dean as he got up as well, “We should probably get going….we’ll see you around Lucas.”

Both men nod to the boy and head back over to where they’d left their siblings with Andrea, missing as Lucas slowly picked up each of their drawings silently. Andrea looks at them quietly and sighs, chewing on her thumbnail anxiously for a moment.

“Lucas hasn’t said a single word since the accident…not to me or anyone else…” she told them quietly, looking at her son, then at the other adults with a deep frown. Akira squeezes her shoulder consolingly, frowning deeply as Arashi inclines his head respectfully.

“We heard about what happened to your husband….and we’re very sorry for your loss.” He told her earnestly, earning a grateful nod from the woman in turn. Sam asks her what the doctors say could be wrong with Lucas, making her heave another heavy sigh.

“They think it’s some….post-traumatic stress or something….” She said uncertainly as Sam offers his condolences, making her sigh once more, “After….after we lost Chris, we moved in with my dad….he’s really been a big help, but….it’s just whenever I think of what Lucas must have went through when it happened, what he must’ve seen….”

Dean and Arashi both nod their heads in understanding, Arashi patting her free shoulder reassuringly, “I wouldn’t worry too much about him, Andrea, kids can be very strong….you’d actually be surprised what they can handle.” He told her, speaking from all of their own past experiences as the rest of the group nod their heads in understanding and Andrea smiles weakly before looking down with teary eyes.

“It’s just hard…Lucas used to be so full of life, hard to keep up with at times, too….but now…he’ll just sit there, drawing the same pictures over and over, playing with those army men. I just wish –“

She pauses as Lucas joins them, holding a picture in his hands. Andrea shifts forward to meet him, gently squeezing his arms with a gentle smile.

“Hey sweetie.” She said softly, watching in surprise as Lucas holds out the picture to Dean and Arashi, making both of them blink a little in surprise themselves as they take it from him.

“Hey, thanks, Lucas.” Dean said gratefully with a smile as Arashi looks at the picture of the Carlton house, his head cocked curiously before he gave Lucas a grateful smile as well. Lucas still doesn’t speak as he heads back to where he’d been coloring, leaving the duo to share the picture with the rest of the group.

After this, the four hunters stay a few more minutes to speak with Andrea before they take their leave to return to their motel for more research and to figure out what to have for dinner. Akira adamantly refuses to have take out and insists that she cooks something since she doesn’t like the thought of surviving on fast food alone. Sam and Arashi have no quarrels with a homemade meal, but Dean refuses to let her cook if she was only going to serve rabbit food. Akira finally has to promise she’ll get some good quality meat to cook for him to agree to let her make them dinner before she was able to leave with Sam to get the ingredients she needed.

By the time the duo returns with the groceries in hand, Dean and Arashi have gotten themselves comfortable on the beds with a couple of magazines and the TV set to an older TV station playing old classic movies. Sam lets Akira into the room and pushes the door closed behind her as she anxiously paces the length of the room, chewing her thumbnail anxiously with a frown.

“Well, we definitely aren’t dealing with Nessie here.” He told Dean and Arashi as he and Akira shrug out of their jackets, frowning. Their brothers look up from what they’re doing, frowning together themselves.

“We went past the Carlton house on the way back.” Akira told them gravely, watching Sam plop himself down on the edge of the bed beside Dean, running his fingers anxiously through his hair, “There was an ambulance out front….for Will Carton…”

“What happened?” Dean flipped his magazine closed as Arashi swung his legs over the edge of his bed, sitting up straight, “Did he drown?”

Sam and Akira both nodded together, “Yeah, in the kitchen sink.”

“The kitchen sink?” Arashi raised a brow disbelievingly as Akira flopped down on the bed beside him, twinning her fingers over her stomach as she stared up at the ceiling with a frown. He reaches over to rub her arm, furrowing his brows now in thought, “Well, this obviously isn’t just any old creature….” He glanced over at the Winchesters as Dean nodded his head in agreement.

“Yeah, we’re dealing with something else entirely….” Dean muttered, rubbing his chin as he tried to figure out what it could be, “It could be a water wraith or some kinda demon or…” he shook his head quickly, sighing out in frustration as he bumped his head against the wall behind him, “I don’t know, it has to be something that can control water from the same source….”

A moment of silence to absorb this before Sam and Akira glance at one another in realization, “The lake…” they said in unison as Akira sat up once more while Dean nods.

“That would explain why whatever’s doing this is upping it’s numbers. It’s home is shrinking and it’ll be dry in just a few months….it’s running out of time….” Akira said slowly, chewing her bottom lip as she tightly grasped at the old Nordic charm hanging around her neck.

“Not to mention it’s able to get around using the pipes.” Arashi added, crossing his arms and drumming his fingers rhythmically against his forearm to keep his train of thought, “Which means it can get practically anywhere in town….to anyone…”

Dean scoots across the bed and gets to his feet, pacing a few steps in thought, “The next drowning is going to happen again soon….” He rans a hand down his face, furrowing thoughtfully as he glanced at the twins, “If the two of you have a better handle on your powers, you’d probably be able to get into Lucas’s head and figure out what we’re dealing with…”

Akira gave him a withering look, “As much as we would love to be able to dive into someone else’s mind uninvited, it’s likely Lucas probably didn’t get a good enough look at what killed his father, so we wouldn’t get a definite answer and we’d probably still be grasping at straws…”

“Well, there is one thing we’ve got going in our favor,” Sam interrupted as Dean opened his mouth to argue back, “We know that whatever is going on, it’s got something to do with Bill Carlton.”

“Why wouldn’t it, when it took both his children?” Arashi leaned back into the bed, crossing his arms as Akira sighed, deflating once more as she’d been preparing for another argument with her brother figure. “Not to mention his godson….” She caught Arashi and Dean’s quirked brows, “Sam and I asked a few of the officers; they said Bill Carlton was named Christopher Barr’s godfather.”

Both men nodded slowly at this new bit of information, Arashi swing his legs off the bed once more as he god up, “Well, looks like we’d better go pay Mr. Carlton a visit, shouldn’t we?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Bill Carlton is sitting right where he had been when the four had first arrived in town. This time, however, he looks a lot worse than before, his body hunched in obviously pain as dark bags are present under his eyes, his face scrunched up tight as he stares forlornly out at the placid lake. He doesn’t even look up at the sound of their approach and Akira carefully moves up alongside him, putting a gentle, comforting hand on his shoulder. He jolts and looks up at her with bloodshot eyes as she offers a small smile.

“Hello Mr. Carlton…we apologize for disturbing you.” She said softly, moving around the bench to stand in front of him as Arashi stands with her and the Winchesters flank the other side, their hands in their pockets, “But we wished to ask you a few questions, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Arashi begin to reach into his jacket to retrieve his ID, “We’re agents from the Department of –“

Bill weakly waves Akira’s hand away, the wrinkles lining his face deepening as his eyes darken and lips set, “I don’t care who any of you are….I’ve answered enough questions today…”

The four exchange quiet looks and Sam moves up alongside Akira, looking empathetically at the older man, “Sir, your son said earlier that he saw something out in the lake that drowned his sister….we just want to know if you’d seen anything as well, then or ever…with Sophie’s drowning and Will’s death today…we think all this might have some kind of connection to you and/or your family.”

Bill glanced away from all of them, staring blankly out at the lake once more with the most heart wrenching expression on his face as tears swam in his eyes, “Both my children are gone and that…that hurts worse than death itself….please….please just…leave me alone…”

The four young adults exchange another look before they concede to his wishes and head back down the dock toward the house and their cars.

“Any thoughts…” Sam is the first to speak as they round the Carlton house, glancing at his partners. Dean looks empathetic, his hands in his pockets.

“Honestly….I think the poor guy’s just been through hell….” He paused, his eyebrows furrowing thoughtfully over the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, but I think he might still be hiding something, too.” Arashi muttered, opening the passenger side door and climbing into Akira’s van as Sam leans on the Impala.

“What should we do now?” Sam asked, folding his arms on the roof of the car and frowning as Dean suddenly stops, staring at the Carlton house while Arashi leans back out of the van, raising his eyebrows. He climbs out of the seat and crosses back to his best friend, who’s already pulling the picture Lucas had given him out to look at it. The two compare the picture with the house in front of them before turning to look at their siblings.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Look, I’m sorry…” Andrea says ten minutes later as she’s talking to the hunters in the front hall of her house not ten minutes later, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she eyes each of them, “But I really don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Please, Andrea, just let us talk to him.” Arashi pleads, looking gently at the woman with persuasive red/brown eyes. She frowns at him, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other as Dean whispers quietly that they only want to talk to Lucas for a minute and then they’d leave. Her face scrunches, “But he wont say anything, so what’s the point?”

“Andrea, please.” Akira interjects compassionately, looking kindly at the other woman with her head cocked slightly to the side, “We think more people are going to get hurt and we need Lucas’s help….something is happening out there that we need to figure out and quickly.”

Andrea furrowed her brows at Akira, shaking her head slowly back and forth as though in disbelief, “But…my husband….all those other people…they just drowned, that’s all…”

Dean and Arashi look persuasively at her, leaning their chins down to meet her gaze evenly in turn, “If that’s what you really believe happened, then all of us will turn and leave right now. But if your gut is telling you something’s wrong, if you think there might be even the tiniest possibility that something else could be happening around here, then please….let us talk to your son…”

Andrea studies both men skeptically, searching each of their eyes critically, letting each of them know of her unease, her maternal and mental hackles raised protectively for herself and her son. She wanted so badly to believe that the death of her husband and the others had been nothing but bad accidents, yet there was a side of her that was telling her that that was just not so and that she should trust them. That she should give these people a chance to help them. Lucas had been through a lot, he’d seen his father drown right in front of him, but….maybe these people were the ones who could help them and bring her little boy back to who he once was…

A slow sigh slipped from between Andrea’s lips as she gave a slow, cautious nod, and motioned for the hunters to follow her as she headed upstairs. Dean and Arashi both smile gratefully and follow her with Sam and Akira behind them, looking quietly at one another. She leads them to Lucas’s bedroom, where he’d sprawled out on the floor, coloring just like before, we toy soldiers standing around him, almost like little guards as drawing are scattered around him. Dean and Arashi enter the room and crouch down next to him, giving friendly smiles.

“Hey Lucas, remember us?”

Arashi spots a couple more drawings of a red bicycle, his head cocked curiously as he indicates them to Dean, who gives them a cursory glance without taking his attention from the boy in front of him, clearing his throat.

“We just wanted to stop by to thank you for that drawing you gave us earlier.” Dean told him earnestly, smiling gently, “But, see…we really need your help again…”

Arashi watches as Lucas is drawing a person underwater, his eyebrows furrowing deeply as Dean takes out the picture from earlier and puts it next to Lucas, tapping it quietly. Arashi puts a hand over his, shaking his head quietly for a moment as he addresses Lucas himself.

“Hey buddy…we know you’re scared, it’s understandable, especially after everything you’ve gone through.” He spoke slowly, compassionately, moving to sit cross-legged across from Lucas, folding his hands in his lap, “But you’re not alone, you know…each of us, Dean, Sam, Akira, and I…we’ve all seen things….bad things happen….Dean had to watch his mom get hurt…he was scared, too…Akira and I were scared when we were little and our dad would get hurt by things we couldn’t quite explain.” He looked slowly at his twin sister, who nodded quietly for him to continue, giving a weak smile while he returned his attention to Lucas, “All of us have thought to retreat into ourselves, too…not talk to anyone….but we knew our parents needed us, knew they would want us to be brave. We reminds ourselves of that everyday to keep going…we do our best to be brave…and I know…you dad would want you to try and be brave, too…”

Lucas drops his crayon as Arashi finishes speaking, looking up at Dean and Arashi for the first time, startling them a little as he sits up from the floor. He hands them another picture, which consists of a white church, a yellow house, and a boy wearing a blue baseball cap and standing alongside a red bicycle in front of a wooden fence. Both men smile gratefully, gently taking the drawing from him.

“Thank you, Lucas.” Arashi said earnestly as he and Dean get back to their feet and leave Lucas to what he’d been doing. Lucas stares after them as they go back into the hall with his mother and their siblings, folding his hands in front of him as he glances down at his drawings.

Andrea walks the four back downstairs to the front door, nodding quietly as Akira thanks her for allowing her brothers the chance to talk to Lucas like that. She still looks a tad unsure of how to take all this, though, but the four promise her they’re going to figure this out as they depart for their next destination. She can only stare after them from the front door as the Impala and van pull away from the house, frowning quietly to herself as they disappear.

“Andrea pointed out earlier that Lucas couldn’t draw anything like this until he lost his dad…” Dean says through the speakers of Arashi’s phone as it rests against his leg while he stares out the windshield at the back of the Impala just in front of them. Akira drummed her fingers against her steering wheel, lips set in thought as Sam pointed out that traumatic experiences can make people more sensitive to premonitions or make them lean more toward having psychic abilities. Arashi cocks his head thoughtfully.

“If that’s true, than maybe Lucas is tapping into it somehow….” He said slowly, playing with a strand of hair tickling his ear, frowning at his reflection in the windshield, “Hopefully we can figure out a lead before the next drowning victim is claimed….”

Akira was staring at the picture Lucas had drawn through Sam’s eyes as he poured over it in the passenger seat of the Impala, “We won’t get anywhere if we rely on just trying to find that house since they’re literally thousands of yellow two-stories in the county alone…”

She watched Sam look closer at the picture, the muscles of his brain flexing and tightening like any other in the body as it was worked over.

“We could try looking for this church here.” Sam pointed out, tapping the paper, “They’re probably less than a dozen of these old fashioned churches around here.”

The twins could sense Dean’s weary pride as his eyes flicker over to his younger brother briefly, “Oh, college boy’s so smart.” He said, is eyes returning to the road as they could sense him smiling. Akira watched Sam look over at Dean now, a sudden thought occurring to him that caused a painful twinge in both twin’s hearts as they exchanged a quiet look. They quickly pull out of both their best’s friends minds, knowing the thoughts and conversation they were having now, about their mother, of what Arashi had shared back at the house, was not something anyone should intrude on, especially not right now. It was a family conversation just between them, not anyone else. They even ended the phone call to give the brothers a few minutes together so they wouldn’t have to share anything they didn’t want to, knowing if it was them, they would want the same.

A short stretch of silence envelopes the siblings, although Arashi is quick to break it as he gave a low chuckle; Akira glances at him with a quirked brow, surprised at the grin spreading across his lips.

“How much you wanna bet Dean’s just ruined the moment about now?” he snickered, earning a playful eyebrow from his sister as she shoved him gently, a gentle smile on her lips now as well.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It takes less than an hour for the group to locate the house they’re looking for. There are only a couple of churches in the some lakefront town and just one old fashioned church currently not in use built alongside a two-story yellow house. A quick comparison to the picture confirms they’re in the right place and they park the cars across the street before crossing to the wooden fence marking off the yard and letting themselves through the front gate. They’re let in not a few minutes later by an elderly woman, who introduces herself as Mrs. Sweeney.

After apologizing cordially for showing up unexpectedly, Dean asks the woman if any children live in the house with her, particularly a little boy wearing a blue ball cap who owned a red bicycle.

Sadness tightens Mrs. Sweeney’s kind face and she glances down at her feet with tears gathered in her eyes as she shakes her head, “No officer, I’m sorry…there hasn’t been a little boy living here for a very long time…” she sighed slowly, “You see…my boy, Peter, died thirty-five years ago.”

The twins notice a picture of the young boy resting on a side table next to the couch and their frown together as Mr. Sweeney lowers herself slowly into a chair, sniffing and rubbing at her eyes to rid them of tears.

“None of us ever figured out what could have happened…not even the police could figure it out…” her voice was tight as Akira moved to rub her back gently, frowning empathetically for the woman, “He just…disappeared…”

Sam notices a number of toy soldiers set up on a nearby table and nudges his brothers, nodding quietly to them while Dean and Arashi check out the rest of the room and Mrs. Sweeney continues to speak.

“Losing my boy….it’s….it’s worse than even death, you know…”

The men exchange a look as Akira addresses the elderly woman gently, “Did Peter disappear from the house, ma’am, or -?”

Mrs. Sweeney shook her head, “No, he….Peter was always supposed to ride his bike straight home after school let out, but he…he never showed up…”

Arashi carefully takes a photo from a mirror hanging on the wall, cocking his head at the two boys smiling back at him; one of them is Peter, holding up his bicycle, but he isn’t sure who the other could be. He flips the picture, reading the neat cursive on the back.

Peter Sweeney and Billy Carlton, nineteen-seventy.

“Hey guys, look at this…” he shows the picture to Sam and Dean, who look at it, then flip it to read the inscription as well, frowning together. “Looks like Bill and Peter knew each other when they were kids….”

“Then Bill is definitely hiding something….” Dean muttered lowly, his face scrunching as his frown deepens, eyebrows setting into a line over his hardening eyes as Arashi nods. “Whatever he knows is obviously affecting the ones he loves, like his kids. They’re being punished for what he’s not confessing.”

“He could’ve been the one to do something to Peter.” Sam pointed out with a dark look on his face, gulping thickly so his Adam’s apple bobbed as he glanced between Dean and Arashi, as though trying to convey his thoughts telepathically. Arashi felt some of the color leave his face and he grits his jaw.

“He could’ve killed him….” He whispered quietly, making Sam nod as a light bulb went off in Dean’s face.

“It must be Peter’s spirit trying to get revenge, then….I mean, if I were that kid, I’d be furious, too….”

“Yeah, so would I…” Arashi agreed, turning to call his sister as they got ready to leave, thanking Mrs. Sweeny for her time as Dean and Sam hurry out to the Impala. Akira thanks the elderly woman for her help and hurries out after her brother, who quickly informs her of what they’d discovered as they get in the van and follow the Impala back toward the Carlton house.

Pulling up front, the group climbs the porch and knocks loudly on the door, calling for Mr. Carlton in the hopes that he would be inside. They don’t receive an answer, although the snarl of an engine roars to life from the other side of the house, down by the lakeshore.

Exchanging a quick look, the four round the house to find the source of the noise, spotting Bill pulling out of his boathouse in his fishing boat, which skids across the surface to the middle of the lake. The hunters are moving before they can think, racing along the lakeshore to the end of the dock as they yell after Bill to come back. Their calls are gone unheeded, however, as Bill continues to race away from them until a large wave crashes into the side of his boat. It rolls sideway with the force, throwing Bill into the water with a loud splash while it sinks below the surface with him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Winchesters and twins soon find themselves at the police station not too long after this, talking to Devins about what they had seen happen to Bill out on the lake after they’d called to report it. Walking through the front doors, they soon discover Andrea and Lucas waiting for them inside; Andrea looks up at their entrance as she’s holding a paper bag and a plastic container in her hands while Lucas rocks back and forth in the chair next to her.

“Sam, Dean,” she sighs in relief, “It’s good to see you Arashi and Akira again….” She looks so relieved as she gets to her feet, putting the bag and container on her chair as she does so while a concerned look crosses her face, her brows furrowing deeply as she looks between each of them, “But, wait….what’re you four doing here…?”

“Didn’t know you five were on a first-name basis now.” Devins interrupts, looking between his daughter and the four young adults standing beside him before he turned to address Andrea directly, “What’re you and Lucas doing here?”

Andrea picks up the plastic container again, holding it out to her father, “I brought your dinner.” She told him, cocking her head and frowning deeply as he politely waved the food away, shaking his head, “Sorry, sweetie, but I don’t really have the time to sit down to eat right now….”

Andrea looks between everyone, lips pursed tightly, “I heard about what happened to Bill Carlton…is it really true that something’s going on with the lake?” she looked beseechingly at her father, willing him to be truthful as he sighs and scratches his head under his hat.

“Look, sweetheart, right now, we don’t know what the truth is around here, but I really think it would be better if you and Lucas headed home.”

A soft whimper draws the adults attention to the distraught child still curled up in his chair, who’s staring up at them with wide, panicked eyes. He practically jumps up from his chair and latches immediately onto Dean and Arashi, who can feel him trembling as he’s holding on tight to their jackets. Arashi kneels down to his height as he puts a gentle hand on his shoulder, frowning deeply while he tries to get him to meet his eye.

“Hey, hey Lucas, what’s wrong, what is it?” he asked gently, brows raising as Lucas seems to be looking around frantically as though he thought he was about to be attacked. Dean puts a gentle hand on his other shoulder, frowning himself.

“Lucas?”

Andrea tries to get her son’s attention, but he twists away from her, still clenching tight to Dean and Arashi as the later continues to try to calm him down. Andrea eventually manages to pull him away and carefully leads him outside, leaving both men staring worriedly after him with deeply furrowed brows while Lucas continues to stare back at them with a completely terrified look on his face.

Devins watches silently through the entire thing and then finally sighs as he sets his jacket down and leads the group into his office. Dean and Arashi take the seats in front of his desk this time, watching as he sits in front of them, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“All right, let me see if I’ve got this straight…” he said slowly as though he was fighting to keep a creeping migraine at bay, “The four of you say you saw….something attack Bill’s boat, sending Bill – a very good swimmer, I might add – into the lake to never surface again?”

The four exchange a look amongst themselves before Arashi addresses the sheriff with a nod, “yeah, that just about sums it up…”

Devins looks at each of them skeptically, rubbing his chin now as his face is set into a hard mask, eyes like steel and lips pressed into a thin line, “And just how,” he leans forward to rest his forearms on his desk, peering at them with narrowing eyes, “Am I supposed to believe a story like that when I’ve already had a team sonar-sweep that entire lake to come up empty? When what you’re telling me now is impossible? Not to mention the fact that none of you are really Wildlife Service?”

Each of them froze and Dean exchanges a surprised look with Arashi, who gulps thickly as Devins guages their reactions critically, nodding.

“That’s right, I checked on the four of you, made a call to the Department, who said they never even heard of any of you.”

A small grin slowly slithers across Dean’s face and he leans forward himself, clearing his throat, “Well, you see officer, we can explain that.”

Devins holds up a hand to stop him, “Please, I’ve heard enough…” he said sternly, setting them with a dark look, “Now all of you should know, here and now, that the only reason any of you are breathing freely is because one of Bill’s neighbors was able to verify your story of seeing Bill steering his boat out onto that lake. Now, I can see a couple of options laid out in front of us. Either I can arrest the four of you for impersonating government officials and hold you all as eyewitnesses to Bill Carlton’s disappearances or,” he held up a finger to stop Dean as he opened his mouth to say something, shooting him a look that told him to keep a lid on it, “We can just chalk this all up to a very bad day, the four of you can get in your cars, put this town in your rearview mirrors and never, ever darken my doorstep again.”

Akira and Sam look quietly at one another for a moment, grabbing their brothers before they can say anything and pulling them out of their chairs, “I think I’d really rather go with the second one.” Akira said with a small smile as she pulled Arashi out of the room. Devins nods after her, watching Sam haul Dean out after the twins.

“Good choice.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Night has fallen by the time the hunters are on the road out of town, waiting at a traffic light. Arashi is staring intently at the sign to their left, which reads I-43 North to Milwaukee, his eyes narrowed tightly. Akira has her head in her hand, frowning at the traffic light as her mind wonders, a deep, unsettled feeling in her stomach, like they had left something unfinished back in the town, like they hadn’t really finished the job like they should have. Neither are even fully aware that the light’s turned green until they notice movement just ahead and focus their attention on the black vehicle turning right to head back into town. They exchange a look and Akira pulls the van after the Impala, her gut telling her to trust this change of direction.

Opening their minds once more, the two reach ahead to probe into their best friend’s minds to hear what was being said. Sam was trying to convince Dean that the job here was over and that they should listen to the sheriff and just leave. Dean isn’t so convinced, even though all the clues point to the ghost getting it’s revenge after finishing the last of Bill Carlton’s family off. Arashi frowns in understanding at the memory of the terrified look on Lucas’s face when he’s held onto him and Dean like they were a lifeline that would keep him from getting hurt. If Lucas was still scared like that, then that meant that Peter’s ghost still wasn’t at rest and was probably still vying for revenge. Which meant there were still people in danger in this town, including Lucas himself and neither man was willing to leave until they knew the boy was safe.

They arrive at the house not too long afterward and neither Dean nor Arashi hesitates to head for the front door to ring the bell despite the late hour. Sam and Akira are just coming up the steps when Lucas pulls the door open, a mask of desperate horror on his young face as he stares at them with wide, terrified, teary eyes.

“Lucas?” Arashi frowns at him in concern, taking a step forward, “hey, wh -? Lucas!” he yells as the boy takes off upstairs once more, leading the four to come charging after him to the upstairs hall, almost slipping on the water that’s pouring down the stairs from under the bathroom door. Lucas is pounding desperately on the door by the time they arrive, tears streaking his face; Arashi reaches him first, his eyes setting immediately at the door, which bursts open without him even touching it. Lucas grabs him and Dean as he arrives, leaving Akira to dash into the bathroom with Sam to the tub, their feet splashing loudly in their ears as they reach into the muddy brown water waiting for them. She manages to grab Andrea under her arms and heaved as he wrapped his arms around her waist, huffing as they’re pulled into the water with her, their feet slipping on the water drenched floor. Akira scrambles upright again, flipping the wet hair out of her face as Sam gasps and pulls harder until they collapse onto the floor with Andrea on top of them, panting. Akira quickly slaps her back several times to get her to breath and she gives a loud cough, water spilling past her lips and down her chin as she blurredly blinks her eyes open.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dawn is breaking outside the windows by the time they’d managed to calm Andrea and Lucas down after her near drowning. After coaxing Lucas to sleep in his room, Sam and Akira had moved Andrea downstairs, where she sat in a chair across from them in a loose t-shirt and shorts, her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, although a few strands hand around her face as she stares at her hands quietly, gulping and wetting her lips. Sam and Akira are trying to coax Andrea into telling them anything she remembered from what happened, but she refuses fearfully. Dean and Arashi glance over from where they’d looking through the notebooks on her bookshelf while she hugs herself shakily.

“This doesn’t make any sense…” she sniffed, tears swimming in her eyes as she covered her face, “Gods, I must be going crazy….”

Akira scooted forward to put a gentle hand on Andrea’s arm, brows furrowing in concern, “You’re not going crazy, Andrea, trust me….everything is going to be okay…but you have to tell us what happened, everything.”

Andrea sniffed, trying to rub at her eyes as she glanced up, “i….when I was under I thought I….heard a voice…” she whispered shakily as Sam prompted her to tell them what the voice had said. Akira frowns a bit, remembering hearing the voice, too, as she holds Andrea's hand, letting her squeeze it tightly for comfort.

"Andrea, you're not crazy, trust me....I heard it, too," she whispered, giving a faint smile as Andrea's eyes shot back to hers', wid in disbelief, "Yeah, that little boy's voice that was saying 'come play with me'? I heard it, too..."

Andrea's bottom lip trembles as she grips Akira's hand tight in hers', "What's happening to us...?"

Dean finds a scrapbook among the novels and notebooks, and he pulls it out, glancing at the words scrawled on the cover, which reads ‘Jake – 12 years old.’ Nudging Arashi as he flips it open, he holds it so both of them can see it. Soon, they come across one picture entilted ‘Explorer Troop 37’ which shows a troop of maybe 10 to 15 boys all around the age of twelve. One of them they recognize as Peter.

Exchanging a look, the two bring the book over to set in front of Andrea, pointing to the picture as Dean asks if she recognizes any of the kids in this book. Andrea looks up and sniffs, frowning as she shook her head.

“N-no, not really….well, except my dad, right there….” She points to one of the boys standing next to Peter as she rubs her eyes once more, “He was probably only about twelve in these pictures.”

Her fingers wander over to a neighboring picture of her father as a child standing alongside Peter, both of them smiling at the camera. The four exchange a look.

Peter’s death hadn’t only been linked to Bill Carlton but to the Sheriff as well, which explained why Chris had drowned earlier that year. The ghost wanted revenge on both of them.

Andrea looks between each of them, eyebrows knitting in confusion, wondering what they could be thinking when they suddenly notice Lucas standing by the window. They each look around in confusion, wondering where he had come from so suddenly since they were sure they’d put him to bed not an hour before.

“Lucas?” Dean called gently, frowning as the boy ignored him and continued looking out the window. Arashi stands straight to look at him, brows furrowed deeply.

“Hey, Lucas, what’s up?” he asked gently, moving to join him when he moves to the door and walks outside. The adults all look at one another and get up to follow him. He stops a short distance from the front door, staring at the ground before looking up at Dean and Arashi expectantly. The two men look where he had in understanding as Dean tells Andrea to take Lucas back to the house and stay there while Arashi hurried back to the vehicles to get their shovels.

Returning not too long after, the four set to work digging up whatever it was that was buried in the yard. It doesn’t take long until they hear the clink of metal against metal as Sam’s shovel hits something solid. Dropping their shovels, the four drop to their knees to dig with their hands until they uncover an old, rusty red bike.

“Peter’s bike…” Dean breaths, looking at his siblings. He opens his mouth to say something when he spots Jake standing behind Sam and Akira, who immediately tense at the sound of a gun clicking behind them. They whirl around to look, staring at the shotgun Jake had pointed at them as he glares.

“Who the hell are you people?” he growls, motioning them to stand. They comply, moving to their feet once more with their hands up in the air to show they aren’t armed as they try to convince him to lower his weapon, “How did you know that bike was there?”

Arashi is calm as he regards Jake, tilting his chin a little, “What happened all those years ago, Jake…?” he says slowly, eyeing the barrel of the gun cautiously, “You and Bill end up killing Peter by drowning him in the lake and then try to cover your tracks by burying his bike? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you can’t bury the truth…because, eventually, it is going to come out into the open, one way or another...trust me….”

Jake glowers stubbornly at them, jaw clenched, “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

“I think you do….” Dean says softly, calmly, “You and Bill were the ones who killed Peter Sweeney thirty-five years ago, weren’t you?” he glances over to Andrea as she hurries out of the house toward them, looking frantic as she looks between her father and the four he has held at gunpoint, “And I’ve gotta tell you, doing something like that can make for a pretty pissed off spirit hungry for revenge….”

“He’s right, Jake…” Sam chimed in quietly, “Peter is going to take Andrea, Lucas, and anyone else you love, drown them, just like you and Bill did to him….”

“And then, they’ll be dragged off who knows where so you’ll have to feel the same pain his mother felt all those years ago.” Akira contributed as she looked coldly at him, “Then, once you know that pain, once you know what she had to suffer through, he’ll finally take you. But, until he does, he isn’t going to stop…”

“Oh yeah…?’ Jake’s voice wavered as he swallowed, hard, eyeing each of them, “And how would any of you know that?”

“Probably because that’s exactly what he did to Bill Carlton.” Sam and Akira tell him resolutely. Jake snorts, rolling his eyes, even as the fear is easily clear on his features, “Would the four of you listen to yourselves? You’re completely mad!”

Dean and Arashi roll their eyes and shake their heads slowly, sighing, “Look, we don’t really give a rat’s ass how you see any of us here and now, but if you want help bringing this thing down, then you’re going to have to help us here. You have to tell us where you and Bill left Peter’s remains so we can salt and burn them to dust and send him on his way. And please….dear god, please do not tell us the two of you just let his body go into the lake….”

Andrea stares disbelievably between her father and the hunters before fixing Jake with an incredulous look, her eyes wide, jaw slack and tears in her eyes, “Dad….is this true?”

Jake looks at Andrea slowly, trying to maintain an angry, indigious air, “No! Of course it isn’t! Don’t you listen to these people, Andrea. They’re psychopaths!”

Andrea frowns at him, lips pulling together, “Dad, something tried to drown me in our bathtub and Chris is gone, somewhere in that lake and – Would you look at me!” she grabbed his arm, pulling on it until he turned to look at her, meeting her watery eyes as she stared pleadingly at him, “Dad….please….tell me you really….you really didn’t kill anyone…”

Jake can’t keep her gaze anymore and looks away, gulping back tears as Andrea lets go of him, horror-struck, and covers her mouth, tears spilling down her cheeks, “Oh god….”

“We were just kids…” Jake croaked, tears rolling down his own cheeks as he lowers his gun, watching his feet, “And we were….playing at the lake. Peter…he always liked to tag along, even though he was the smallest out of us….we used to pick on him a lot but…we got too carried away this time and….we held his head underwater too long…we didn’t mean to drown him, we just….we held it too long…and we let his body go into the lake. It sank….”

The Winchesters and twins look quietly at one another as Jake rubs at his face, looking pleadingly at his daughter as though she was the one he had hurt instead of his childhood friend.

“Oh Andrea, we…we were just kids and we were so scared….it was a stupid mistake. But that….” He paused to take a deep breath to steady himself, “It…it doesn’t justify us being blamed for what’s happened this last year, with Chris and the others…it…it just isn’t rational…”

“Okay…” Arashi slowly steps forward with his hands still held up in front of him so as not to make Jake think he was trying to attack, “I think we should all just take a deep breath for a second before we proceed forward. What we need to do now is get all of you as far away from this lake as we possibly can before something else happens.”

“He’s right…we can’t risk anymore of you drowning like Bill and his family.” Dean agreed, slowly lowering his arms as Andrea sighed and turned away to gather herself together, only to spot her son heading down toward the lake. Her eyes widen and she gasps aloud as Jake spots him at the same second and calls out for him.

They all take off at a run along the lakeshore toward the dock, where Lucas is leaning over one side, reaching out toward the water for something floating just on the surface. Dean and Arashi both yell for Lucas as Andrea begs him just to stay put; seconds later, he loses his grip on the dock and falls into the lake, but doesn’t resurface. Jake stops on the lakeshore, staring into the water with a slack look on his face while Andrea follows the twins and Winchesters to the end of the dock, where the four of them shuck off their jackets and dive in.

Darkness encroaches from all sides as soon as the twins are submerged, so thick neither sunlight nor the twin's supernatural senses can pierce it, leaving them with a feeling of disorientation without a sense of knowing what was up and what was down. The only direction they could know now was forward as they propelled themselves through the water, which was steadily dropping in temperature. A cold wariness seeped into their muscles, slowing their movements to a sluggish pace, even as they pushed themselves to keep going, the only sound that can be heard that of their own and Peter's beckoning them to come play with him.

_(Please, Peter, don't do this to Lucas.)_ The pair beg mentally, willing the ghost to be appeased, to spare the young boy; a sudden warmth makes itself known in both their chests, a growing ache from holding in the carbon dioxide their body had created in exchange for the oxygen they needed. They exhale through their noses, the bubbles they released only known to have escaped through the feeling of them brushing past their faces, alieving the ache in their lungs for what felt like both a second and an hour in one. Their bodies continue to slow, the burning returning to their lungs slowly fading with that sense of cold that seized their muscles, leaving them feeling heavy and weightless all at the same time. Akira wondered if this was what it felt like to die, that moment of pain that felt like it went on forever before it all slowly began to fade into nothing, into this darkness, bringing with it a sense of peace....and fear.

_(Akira....)_ Arashi's voice sounded far away, like he was shouting it from a distance, as he struggled to hear her, that invisible connection that bound them slipping through his fingers; her brain struggled against the encroaching darkness, pushing against the welcoming warmth of sleep that whispers tantalizingly from all sides, growing louder with each passing second. _(Akira....ahead...)_ He struggled, too, against the comfort of the darkness to think, to get his point across before they were swallowed up by it. _(Lu...cas....)_

A flash of color broke the darkness as the last letter of the boy's name registered in Akira's mind, just a dot in the distance, just light enough to contrast against the darkness. The twins focused on that point, willing their limbs to move, arching their arms  forward and kicking their legs with as much force as they could muster; it grew steadily bigger as they got closer, the familiar figure becoming more pronounced until they could see the way Lucas's clothes and hair wavered in the water, his young, round face slack and pale. The twins swim closer, each reaching out a hand for the boy.

Light floods over them from above as they each find a grip on Lucas's arms, the icy, sluggish feeling from before releasing its' hold on the pair, a fresh wave of energy taking it's place. Their arms encircle Lucas from both sides as they slice their arms through the water ahead, their legs kicking out from underneath with more power than before as they turn upward, swimming toward the sunlight dancing on the waves. They can hear Andrea's muffled voice, calling for her son as they near the surface, kicking with all their might to close those last few inches...

Fresh air hits them dead in the face and the twins fill their lungs with it, whipping their heads back and forth to rid themselves of their hair as it sticks wetly to their faces and swim toward the dock, supporting Lucas's limp body between them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few days later finds the team packing their bags back into the cars. Arashi absently tosses his duffel into the back of the van, rubbing his neck as Akira gives him an empathetic look, squeezing his shoulder.

“Shi…you know we’re not going to be able to save everyone…” she told him gently, her heart twisting at the forced smile he gave her as he nods.

“Yeah, I know…still sucks though, you know…” he sighs, messing absent-mindedly with his hair when a voice behind them drew the twins’ attention, making them turn and smile at the woman approaching them with a warm smile on her face.

“Andrea.” Arashi greeted as he came around the van with Akira while Sam and Dean joined them, watching Lucas run up alongside his mom not moments later, smiling brightly at them while Dean tussles his hair, smiling. “What’s up?”

She shook her head, still smiling, “Nothing, we just wanted to come see you all off. We, uh, we made you guys a lunch for the road.”

Lucas proudly holds up a trayful of sandwiches to show them, making each of the adults chuckle and smile gratefully at him.

“Lucas insisted on making all the sandwiches himself.” Andrea giggled with Akira, who gave the boy a gentle smile, “That’s very sweet of you, Lucas, thank you.” She said gratefully, making his smile broaden.

“Where do you want me to put these?” he cocked his head; Dean motions for him to follow him and Arashi toward the van as Andrea kisses his cheek before he scurries off after them. Sam and Akira smile after them, then look at Andrea.

“How’re the two of you holding up?”

Andrea’s smile becomes a little strained, but the grateful, happy edge still remains in her eyes, “There’re still things to sort out around here, so that’s going to take a while….but, we should be fine….” She gave them a reassuring smile as Sam offers his apologizes, which she waved away. “There’s really no need for any of you to apologize, you all saved my son and I couldn’t ask any of you for anything more. I know my dad loved me and Lucas, and, no matter what happened in his past, I’m going to hold onto that.”

Sam and Akira gave her gentle, understanding smiles as they nod together while Dean and Arashi show Lucas where to put the sandwiches in the back of the van.

“You sure you’re going to remember that phrase we taught you, champ?” Arashi asked with a grin as Lucas straightened himself and turned to face them, smiling widely as he nodded enthusiastically. “All right, Mr. Talkie, then why don’t you repeat it one more time so we’re sure you’ve got it down.”

“Zeppeline rules!” Lucas exclaimed buoyantly, pulling a chuckle from both men, who each offer him a high five, which he happily obliges to.

“Be sure you take good care of your mom, okay?” Dean tells him gently, tussling his hair again; Lucas nods, still smiling as Andrea joined them, kissing each man briefly.

“Thank you both, so much.” She said with a big, bright smile. Dean stares at her, momentarily stunned as Arashi grins and scratches his neck before clearing his throat loudly.

“Hey Aki, let’s go, we don’t wanna lose the sunlight!” he called for his sister as he pulled the van’s door closed and climbed into the passenger seat while Dean goes around to the Impala.

“What’re you yelling at me for, I’m the one waiting on you, sloth.” Akira tells him as she’s already waiting for him in the driver’s seat, the motor growling to life. Looking out through the windshield, the twins wave to Andrea and Lucas as they pull out of the parking lot and lead the way out of town, the Impala not too far behind.

 


	5. Phantom Traveller

 

“Aki, just drop it already, I’m fine.”

An unconvinced snort leaves the young woman as she pulls her van to a stop before a red light, glancing sideways at her best friend seated in the passenger seat, balancing a trio of coffees in his lap and a bag of pastries they’d just acquired from the donut shop several blocks back. The headlights of the cars passing them on the other side of the road throw the shadows from the streetlamps back across his face, bringing emphasize to the bags just beginning to form under his eyes, his face furrowed deeply in concentration as he stares blankly out the wind shield, blinking heavy, blood-shot eyes. A dark blue velvet sky stretches overhead, the thinnest line of pink and orange accenting the horizon to the east as the old style digital clock on the dashboard reads out 5:40 AM.

“Sam, you know I can’t just drop something like this if it’s affecting you this badly.” Akira tells him softly as the light turns green and she pulls into traffic, the neon pink sign of the motel just ahead growing larger as they approach and turn into the parking lot. She returns her attention ahead, pulling the vehicle into the empty parking space beside the Impala just outside their room. “I know you hadn’t got any sleep last night, which is why I was the one who drove us to the donut shop and back. I couldn’t let you get into an accident.” He wouldn’t meet her eye as she turned off the van and unbuckled herself, turning fully to face him with a frown still marring her features as she put a gentle hand on his shoulder, “Sam….you know I’m always right here when you need me, right? You can talk to me if you need to….”

Sam gave her a weak smile, nodding quietly, “I know….but you already know what’s bothering me, Akira….you’ve heard it a dozen times before and I don’t want to annoy you by repeating the same thing over and over again.” He shrugged off her hand as he climbed out of the van; Akira frowned quietly and got out, too, rounding the engine to stop Sam before he can escape into their room, where their brothers were probably still asleep.

“It won’t annoy me, Sam, you never annoy me. No matter how many times I hear it, you know I’ll always listen.” She caught his arm, looking beseechingly at Sam with furrowed eyebrows, head cocked worriedly to the side, “Please….I know….I know with everything’s that’s happened, it’s difficult, especially since you lost Jessica, but please Sam….don’t pull away from me….” She pleaded, looking deep into his eyes as he turned to frown at her and sighed quietly, glancing away, unable to meet her gaze, “I just….I need some time, Aki….some time to take it in….” he whispered, missing the pained look that rolled over Akira’s face as he gently pulled his arm from her grasp and shifted the things in his arms to reach into a pocket of his jacket and pull out their room key. She sighed to herself as he opened the door, moving to follow him into the room when Sam jumped backward, crashing back into her and making her yelp in surprise while she grasped onto his jacket to keep herself from falling back onto the pavement.

“Sam?” Akira blinked in surprise once she was sure she was stable, coming around him to look up at his wide-eyed face and following the line of his gaze to the doorframe from which he had just jumped back out of. Frowning to herself, the young woman cautiously approached and poked her head inside, fingering the blade she kept in her back pocket as her eyes scanned the motel room for any signs of what could have startled Sam.

Inside, the room looked fairly normal, no sign of struggle or fighting, even as the bedsheets were rumpled and untidy from where they’d been slept on while their personal items were scattered about the floor and table. On one of the beds, Dean was propping himself up on one elbow to look sleepily at the door, one hand half hidden under his pillow as he blinked at Akira, while Arashi yawned and rubbed at his eyes from his spot on the floor, squinting up at his twin sister. Something glinted in the doorway, drawing her attention and Akira sighed as she yanked the hunter’s knife out of the doorframe, quirking a brow at Arashi, who gave a sheepish smile as she stepped into the room.

“You need to get a better handle on those powers, Arashi. You could’ve seriously hurt Sam!” she scolded, tossing the knife back onto the table as Sam carefully leaned into the room and entered upon knowing he wouldn’t get another weapon thrown his way. “Have you even done any of your exercises?”

“Yes mother.” Arashi muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes, “I’ve been practicing them every day, Aki, but you know it takes time. Plus, you know our guards are down when we’re sleeping and it doesn’t help if we’re startled awake.”

Akira sighed, conceding, “Fine….but you’re practicing extra today to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” She told him while he groaned and flopped backward onto his pillow, yanking his blanket up over his face while Akira fell back onto the empty bed beside Sam. He hands Dean his offer and then sets the third down on the bedside table as he sips his own, sighing as he admitted he’d forgotten how demanding their job as hunters could be. Dean shrugged.

“The thing with that, though, is you can’t really let it get to you, don’t bring it home at night, not like this.”

Sam frowns at his brother, his brows furrowing a bit in thought, “This kinda stuff doesn’t bother you? Either of you?” he glanced over to where he could see Arashi’s feet poking out from around Dean’s bed while the former shook his head.

“You can’t let fear rule you, Sam.” Arashi said as he sat up once more, running his fingers through his messy midnight hair as he glanced at him with a yawn. Akira snickered and sat up, quirking a brow, “Says one of the guys who has a knife at the ready under his pillow.”

“That is not fear.” Dean countered, “That is precaution, we cannot be too careful in a profession like ours’.”

“Yeah, okay.” Akira shakes her head as Sam hides a yawn behind his hand and Arashi gets up to claim his own coffee, stretching his arms over his head with a small groan of appreciation. A loud buzzing noise sounds from the bedside table as Dean’s cell phone skittered across the smooth oak surface. Dean picks it up and accepts the call, his brows furrowing a bit in confusion at who could be calling so early in the morning before a look of recognition smooth’s his features. After a few minutes of talking, he hangs up the phone and gets to his feet.

“Looks like we got another job.” He told the others as he starts packing his stuff together. Akira and Sam frown together, glancing at one another, wondering who he’d been talking to as Arashi sips his coffee thoughtfully.

“Was that Jerry? That poltergeist of his isn’t back, is it?”

“No, this is something else. He didn’t want to explain it over the phone.” Dean said, shoving all his weapons into a bag and then glancing back at them, “Well, we haven’t got all day! We’ve gotta drive up to Kittanning, Pennsylvania, c’mon!”

Exchanging a look once more while Arashi shrugged, Sam and Akira hurried to do as they were told before Dean could start yelling, packing their bags quickly so they could hit the road and get to Pennsylvania before the end of the day. Within minutes, the four had their cars packed, their room keys returned to the front office, and were on the road.

The drive to Pennsylvania was rather long et peaceful as they mostly drove through countryside. The airport they arrived at was stationed just outside a small city; they had to use their fake FBI badges to get onto the runway to meet up with Dean and Arashi’s contact. Jerry was working out on the runway as an air traffic controller when they drove up and he walked over to greet the four of them, shaking each of their hands heartedly.

“Thank you all for making this trip so quickly, I really ought to be doing you four a favor instead of the other way around. Dean, Arashi, and John really helped me out back then, you know?”

Sam and Akira both smiled together, nodding, “Yeah, our brothers told us. It was a poltergeist, wasn’t it?”

One of the men helping to get the planes ready for flight paused at the mention of the word and turned toward them with a smile on his face, “You guys talking about poltergeist? Aw, that’s an awesome movie.”

Jerry gave the man a withering look, motioning for him to get on with his work, “Private conversation, you have work to do, so get to it.” He sighed, then turned back to the two, “And hell yeah it was a poltergeist, it practically tore my family’s house apart, too. And I’ll tell you both something else, if it hadn’t’ve been for your brothers and dad, I probably wouldn’t be here right now. John told me you two,” he pointed at Sam and Akira as they shifted from one foot to the other and cocked their heads to the side a little, “Were off at college. Isn’t that right?”

Akira smiled lightly and nodded, crossing her arms over her chest, “Yeah, uh…” she glanced sideways at Sam out of the corner of her eye, “we decided to take a little bit of time off, you know?”

Jerry smiled faintly in understanding and nodded, “Well, I’ll tell you both now, Johnwas damn proud of you, including you, Akira. It’s like you’re the daughter he never had. I could just tell how proud he was about you both, in just how he talked about you both.” Akira smiled gently in gratitude as Sam cocked his head a little.

“Did he?” he asked, curious if his father really talked him and Akira up as much as Jerry said. His smiled brightened a little as he nodded, “Oh, you bet, bragged about some of your achievements, you know. But, you know, I tried to get a hold of him the other day, but I just got his voicemail. Is he doing all right?”

Dean and Arashi exchanged looks with one another, frowning together; Arashi rubbed his neck a bit as Dean cleared his throat, “Dad’s, uh….kinda wrapped up in another case right now….”

Jerry frowned a bit in concern, but didn’t press the issue as he inclined his head respectfully “Well, we miss the old man, but now you’ve both got Sam and Akira here, so it’s a pretty even trade, isn’t it?”

Dean and Arashi both chuckle together as Sam and Akira smile weakly, shaking their heads together, “No, not really….not by a long shot, at least.”

Jerry gave them a reassuring smile, then motioned for the four of them to follow him, “Well, I’ve got something I want to show you four, so why don’t you follow me?”

The four young adults nodded in agreement and followed Jerry off the runway and into the airport; they used the airport personal entries and back rooms to get to the control room. He took a CD from a small file cabinet in the back of the rom and brought it over to a audio player; it was a final recording from the plane that had crashed.

“When I heard this recording, I knew immediately that it had to be right up your guys’ alley.” He waved the disc a bit as he pulled it out of it’s protective casing and put it into the drive of one of the computers and set up the audio player, “Now, normally I wouldn’t have had access to something like this…this came from the United Britannia flight 2485 cockpit recorder. It was one of ours’.” He pressed the play button and a clearly distressed voice crackled out from the speakers as the sound of swooshing wind could be heard in the background.

‘ _Mayday! Mayday! I repeat! 2485 requires immediate instruction….appears to be experiencing some mechanical failures….’_ The wind grew louder until it overtook the men’s voices and Jerry hit the stop button.

The recording took off from here and the plane crashed about two hundred miles south of here. No one’s entirely sure what happened, but now they’re trying to chalk it up to mechanical failure; the cabin depressurized somehow, but nobody’s quite sure why. There were over a hundred passengers on board, but only seven got out alive. The pilot was one of them, a good friend of mine named Chuck Lambert. He’s, uh….he’s been pretty broken up about the whole thing, really….feels like it’s his fault….”

“What do you think?” Akira asked Jerry gently with her hair cocked; he crosses his arms, leaning back in his chair, “It seems supernatural, really…but it most certainly was not Chuck’s fault.”

Nodding quietly to herself and exchanging a look with Sam, the young woman smiled gently at Jerry once more as Sam asked if they could have a couple of the passenger manifests and a list of the survivors. Jerry nods as he extracts the CD from the player and gets to his feet.

“I’ll get that right away, just give me a few minutes, please.”

The four young adults all nod in agreement as Dean clears his throat, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, “Is there any way we’d be able to take a look at the wreckage as well?”

Jerry frowned a bit as he handed the CD to Sam, giving the group an almost apologetic look, “That won’t be as easy….the NTSB has what’s left of the plane locked down inside an evidence warehouse for further investigation. Unfortunately, I don’t have that kind of clearance, especially not for any of you.”

Dean’s frown deepens as he exchanges a silent look with Arashi, who crosses his arms slowly, offering an easy, reassuring smile, “It’s okay, we understand, we just thought we’d at least ask. Thanks for at least showing us this and for that manifest.” He pat Jerry’s back gratefully.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After leaving the airport, the Winchesters and twins head for a small town just a couple of miles away, where they make an immediate stop at the nearest Copy Jack they can find. While Dean and Arashi head inside to get what they need, Sam and Akira sit in the back of her van together to go over the CD, passenger manifest, and survivor list Jerry had given them before they’d left. While Akira looks up the seven survivors to see if any of them were still alive, Sam takes care of the cockpit audio, editing out the noises in the fore-front and bring up a quiet, scratchy voice. It’s what the EVP uncovers, however, that seems to baffle him, however.

“Hey, Aki,” he nudged her gently to get her attention, making her look up from her laptop screen with her head cocked curiously to the side. She focused her attention on his laptop now, “Check this out.”

Sam hits play on the tape, which brings up the voice he’d uncovered from the cockpit voice recorder. The voice whispers out ‘ _No survivors_!’ Akira blinks in surprise and furrows her brows slightly, crossing her arms as she cocks her head thoughtfully.

“Definitely sounds like some kind of haunted flight or something, like flight 401.” She hummed to herself, turning back to her own laptop again, “Although this seems kinda different from the pilot and copilot of the crash haunting other planes with parts salvaged from it….”

Sam hummed lowly in thought himself, nodding, “And even beyond that, there has been a long history of spirits and death omens appearing on planes and ships that could be indicators of phantom travelers….have you found out anything about the survivors from this crash?”

“Yeah….” Akira scrolled through a page on her laptop, “One of them lives in the area, goes by the name Max Jaffey. I called his mother a few minutes ago and she told me something rather interesting, which means he probably saw something strange aboard the flight.”

“What did she tell you?” Sam frowned a bit at his best friend as she glanced back at him.

“Well….she told me about some of the things he told her he saw….and she said Max had admitted himself to the local Psychiatric Hospital.” She pointed out, making Sam raise his eyebrows slightly, giving him a rather quizzical look, “Hm…okay, that definitely sounds like something….did you find out anything else on the other passengers?” he leaned toward her as she looked once more at her laptop, scrolling through a few pages on screen. A brief silence stretched on between the friends as they looked together through records on the six other survivors of the crash they were investigating, their minds each wandering off into their own thoughts when a sharp knock came from the van door. Both of them jumped a little in surprise, jolted back into reality as they each looked up together at the intruders.

Leaning casually against the sides of the open sliding door, Dean and Arashi were watching their siblings with the biggest, Cheshire cat grins on their faces, causing wrinkles around the corners of their eyes, which danced with clear, unadulterated mischief.

“No interrupting something, are we?” Arashi quirked a brow almost innocently, cocking his head the slightly bit to the side, making both Sam and Akira frown at his quizzically. Dean cleared his throat and indicated to the two o them, finally making them realize just how close they had gotten in the short stretch of them they had been slaving over Akira’s laptop; in order to get closer to see her laptop screen clearly, Sam had had to kind of balance himself between the two beanbag chairs she had, although in the time they’d been researching, he’d practically slid into her chair alongside her now, practically pressed up against Akira at this point, one hand resting just above her as his chin hovered over her right shoulder while her left arm and leg pressed into his side. The two young adults gave their brothers a couple of dry, unamused looks as Sam scooted back to his own beanbag chair while Akira closed her laptop, watching Dean and Arashi chuckle together and seat themselves in the open doorway.

“You two certainly took your time in there.” Akira indicated the Copy Jack in which the two had disappeared for the better part of any hour. Dean shrugs, almost nonchalantly, as Arashi takes out a couple of badges from his pocket, grinning.

“Sis, you know you can’t rush perfection.” He hummed, showing Sam and Akira the two IDs he was carrying as Dean produced another pair from his own pocket. The pair raised their eyebrows a bit as they each take an ID with their own photo.

“Homeland security?” Sam glanced up from the ID, caught between impressed and almost terrified at the same time, “Bit illegal, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, even for us.”

“Eh, thought we’d try something new, you know?” Dean shrugged once more, stowing his ID back in his pocket, “Something people wouldn’t’ve seen a thousand times over.” He nodded toward Sam’s still open laptop, cocking his head, “So, did either of you find anything useful?”

Sam told Dean and Arashi about the EVP he’d uncovered and played it for them, explaining about his and Akira’s conclusion that they could be dealing with a haunted flight here. Both men nodded slowly in understanding, their interests peaked as Arashi pointed out this was just like that flight 401, which Sam and Akira had been talking about not half an hour before. Dean turns to Akira now.

“What about you, Aki, did you find out anything about the passengers that did survive the crash?”

Akira nodded and brought up what she had found out about Max Jaffey, telling both men she thinks they should head over to talk to him first. Neither Arashi nor Dean finds any reason why they shouldn’t and the team heads over toward the hospital where he’s staying, which is named Riverfront Psychiatric Hospital. Since Max is probably still shaken up about the entire incident, the four decide to just send in one team to talk to him so he won’t feel uncomfortable. A quick game of rock, paper, scissors decides that Sam and Akira are the ones who will go inside today while Dean and Arashi wait with the cars outside the gate.

Riverfront hospital is a tidy little ones story facility build much in the way of a retirement home, although it’s residents are mostly still fairly young, mentally unhinged. Upon speaking with the nurse at the front desk, the duo is brought outside to where Max is sitting on the rim of a large, garden fountain, resting his hands atop a tall, oak wood cane. He looks up at their approach and stands to greet them, shaking each of their hands as Sam introduces them and shows Max his bag. The man’s smile slips a little in confusion as he looks between the two while Akira offers a friendly smile, asking if they might be able to speak with him for a moment and ask him a few questions as she indicates the path to see if he’d like to walk during their conversation. He doesn’t argue, although he still looks confused as he walks between the two down the white cobbled garden path.

“Is there something going on with the case?” he asked once they’d drawn far enough away from the building that no one else would be able to overhear them, glancing between Sam and Akira with deeply frowed brows, “I though I’d already answered all the questions Homeland Security needed answering.”

“You did, before,” Akira reassured him with the same gently, friendly smile, being sure to relax her face and expression so as to ease any worry the man may have, “But you’re correct, some new evidence has come up in our investigation that we just need some answers for. It’s nothing too major.”

Sam cleared his throat to gain Max’s attention now, meeting the other man’s eye respectively, “Max, just before your plane went down, was there anything unusual about it that you saw?”

Max’s frown deepened the slightly bit, wrinkles appearing across his forehead, “Unusual like what?”

“Well, for instance, was there anything strange going on with the lights?” Akira chimed in gently, cocking her head the slightly bit to the side, “Were there any kind of strange noises? Any voices you could hear?”

Max shook his head, looking between Sam and Akira once more, “No, nothing that I noticed.”

The two exchanged a look over the man’s head before turning their attention back to him, “Mr. Jaffey, you were the one who checked yourself into this hospital, aren’t you?” Akira ask him gently, earning a nod in return, “Might I inquire as the reason why?”

Max’s expression darkened a little and he glanced down, rubbing his neck with his free hand, “Well…I was a bit stressed after everything that had happened with the crash….”

Akira put a gentle, reassuring hand on Max’s shoulder, “Mr. Jaffey, was there something on that flight that might of spooked you? Aside from the initial crash itself?” Max wouldn’t meet Akira’s eye, his focus entirely on the cobblestones under their feet as he pressed his lips into a thin white lip, as though he didn’t want to say. Akira squeezed his shoulder just enough to encourage him to speak and let him know he was safe to speak his mind here, “Please, sir, if you saw something up there, we need to know about it.”

Max shook his head slowly, deliberately, as though shaking away a though he didn’t wish to recall as he shrugged Akira’s hand away, “No, I….I didn’t….I was just delusional, that’s all…I was just seeing things.”

“So you did see something?” Sam prodded carefully, cocking his head the slightest bit to the side while Max tensed his shoulders, as though waiting for Sam to belittle him for saying such things. “No, it’s okay, Mr. Jaffey, we need to know about this. Now just please tell us what you thought you saw up there.”

Max glanced up at Sam from under his bangs for a moment before flicking his gaze toward Akira, almost unsure, even as she continued to give him the same kind smile, her own head cocked the slightest bit to the side as well. He finally took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“There was….one man on that flight. He…he had these weird eyes….black eyes, like….pitch black. And then he….well, I thought he….”

“What did he do?” Akira asked gently, squeezing Max’s shoulder once more as he sighed out slowly again.

“He threw open the emergency exit….which is physically impossible for anyone to do….” Max shook his head, silently questioning his own sanity, “I mean, I looked it up after I got home and it says there’s like, two tons of pressure on a door like that…”

Sam and Akira exchanged another look, nodding together before returning their attention to the man before them.

“Mr. Jaffey, aside from opening a door like that so easily, was there anything else off about this man? Did he seem to appear and disappear rapidly, looking kinda similar to a mirage?”

Max lifted his head to look at Sam with a deep frown, as though questioning his sanity now, “What’re you, nuts?”

Sam blinks and cocks his head once more as Akira furrows her brows a bit, watching Max shake his head.

“No, the guy was another passenger. He sat in the seat right in front of mine on the plane.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Not too long after this, the Impala and van pull up in front of an ordinary two-story home set into a comfortably peaceful looking neighborhood. After securing Max’s seat number and looking up the name of the passenger who had sat in front of him, George Phelps, the team had immediately set to work on finding his home address, where they planned on interviewing his widow. This time, Dean and Arashi would be heading inside.

“Well, we know for sure we’re not dealing with any ordinary human….” Dean told Arashi as the two climbed the steps to the front porch, glancing quietly up at the house with a frown, “Especially since we know no human could possibly open up an emergency door under that much pressure during a flight, not even if he was yoked up on PCP or something like that.”

“High possibility of possession, then.” Arashi agreed as they crossed the front porch to the door, “Can’t be anything else, this place doesn’t really give uot much of a creature’s lair kinda vibe, does it?” he looked at Dean out of the corner of his eye as his friend nodded his head in agreement while he rang the doorbell.

Mrs. Phelps answers the door a few minutes later and asks the young men if she can help them. They show her their IDs and ask if they could come in to ask her a few questions about her late husband. The memory of him causes her face to pucker a little sadly, but she doesn’t refuse and invites Dean and Arashi inside. The men seat themselves on the couch across from her as she picks up a frame photo from one of the end tables and shows it to them.

“That was my George.” She told the with the barest whisper of a smile as she took a seat in the recliner across the coffee table, folding her hands neatly in her lap as Arashi holds the photo, inspecting it with his head cocked the slightest bit to the side. Dean asked Mrs. Phelps what her husband had done for a living and she cocked her head the slightest bit to the side.

“George was a dentist.” She told him in a quiet, almost forlorn voice, “The day of the crash, he was headed for a convention in Denver.” She ran her fingers through her bangs to brush them out of her eyes, chewing her bottom lip as she looked between Dean and Arashi, “Poor dear was petrified to fly….I can only imagine how he must have felt during the crash.” Her eyes darkened and she looked down sadly, pressing a hand to her chest at the thought of what her husband must have felt. Arashi set the picture carefully down on the coffee table, giving the woman an empathetic look.

“Mrs. Phelps, how long were you and your husband married?”

She sniffed, rubbing at her eyes to catch a few tears sparkling at the corners of her eyes as she lifted her gaze back to the young man, “Thirteen years.”

Arashi nodded, “Did your husband display any strange characteristics during your time together? Anything out of the ordinary, perhaps?”

Mrs. Phelps looked taken aback by such a question, her brows furrowing the slightest bit in confusion, “Erm….the only strange thing there was was his acid reflux, if….that’s what you’re inquiring to….?”

Arashi exchanges a look with Dean as he’s reclined back on the couch, his hands folded before him. His lips push out thoughtfully as he glances toward the ceiling, as though lost in his own thoughts or praying.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“This definitely doesn’t make any sense….” Akira murmured ten minutes later after Dean and Arashi had reported back to her and Sam about what they had learned from the widow. The young woman furrowed her brows in thought as her best friend leaned against the passenger side door behind her while their brothers crossed their arms, each lost in their own sea of thoughts.

“She is right….I mean, a middle-aged dentist with a stomach ulcer is not exactly what we would call evil personified….” Sam agreed, his face scrunched in thought while Dean and Arashi nodded, glancing at one another once more.

“I think what we need to do now is get into that NTSB warehouse and check out the wreckage of that plane.” Dean pointed out as Arashi hummed his agreement.

“Then at least maybe we can figure something out….”

“We’re going to need to look the part if we’re going to break into a private warehouse, though.” Akira got to her feet, sliding the van door closed behind her and ushering Sam into the passenger seat, “Time for some clothes shopping boys.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A half hour later, the group is at a suit rental shop further downtown called Mort’s for Style. Dean, Sam, and Arashi exit the shop, each dressed in crisp black suits over white shirts and black ties. Arashi pulls uncomfortably at his tie, unused to something wrapped around his neck so as it felt like he was being strangled, while Sam adjusts his collar. Dean looks at himself in the reflective glass of the shop, his nose wrinkled.

“Man….I look like I’m a part of the Blues Brothers.” He sighed, crossing his arms as he turned back to his brothers, who cock their heads together as they look at one another before Sam chuckles.

“Trust me, dude, you don’t. You’re more like a seventh-grader dressed up for his first dance.”

The bridge of Dean’s nose wrinkles further and he glances away, disgruntled, “I hate this thing.”

“Whether you like it or not doesn’t matter.” Akira spoke up as she joined the men, dressed in a nice, crisp suit of her own, although this one is a lighter gray color with a knee length skirt. She makes sure her white shirt is tucked nearly into her skirt and adjusts her jacket, glancing around at the trio as they stare at her with big, having never seen her dressed so formally before, “What does matter is that we get into that warehouse. Now c’mon. And Arashi, quit playing with your tie.” She fixed her twin’s tie before heading toward the van, leaving him to grumble after her as Dean leans over to Sam.

“You know, she’s probably pass for a sexy librarian if we got her a pair of glasses and told her to put her hair up.” He murmured, chuckling as Sam playfully shoved him and followed the young woman toward her van, where she was already sitting in the driver’s seat and starting up the engine.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After securing the address of the warehouse from Jerry, the team heads over to check out the wreckage. After parking the Impala and van a safe distance away just in case something were to go wrong, the team heads for the building itself, which looks more like a large, abandoned bunker instead of an old storehouse. The security guard at the door stops them briefly to ask about their busy and only lets them pass once he’s seen each of their IDs, although he seems a tad suspicious open seeing two teams of Homeland Security members on such a mission when it really only needed one. Arashi was able to sooth the guard’s worries however, by convincing him that he and Akira were newer agents who needed to learn the ropes from their partners and he let them go on their way without further questions, much to their relief.

The inside of the warehouse is filled practically wall to wall with old, crashed planes, each in verifying stages of rust and decay. Most of the planes were missing large chunks of their bodies, including the wings themselves, while others had their noses crushed and pressed inward, almost similar to that of a pug’s snout. Dean and Arashi each pull out a small device from their pockets and put a pair of earbuds in their ears, as though listening to it, making Sam and Akira quirk their brows curiously while Akira eyes the items in their hands.

“Not really the time to be listening to your walkmens, don’t you think?” she crosses her arms as she eyes her brothers while Dean runs the device over the plane they’d come to investigate and Arashi glances back at her.

“These aren’t walkmen anymore, Aki. Dean and I modified them as EMF meters.” He pointed out before he walked around the plane to check out the other side while Akira exchanges an impressed/skeptical look with Sam.

“You two made homemade EMF meters? Are you sure they work?”

Just as Akira asks this, Dean runs his EMF meter over a piece of the wreckage, which is sprinkled with yellow dust, causing a noticeable spike.

“See for yourself.” He indicates Sam and Akira to come closer, pointing to the yellow dust as they both frown, “This stuff is all over the emergency door handle….”

“What is it?” Sam furrows his brows, watching Dean scratch some of the yellow dust off and get it on his hand; Akira kneels next to him, pulling a plastic bag and a small knife from her pocket, “Well, there’s one way to find out.” She scrapes some of the dust off the door into the bag and seals it just as Arashi comes around the front of the plane, frowning deeply with dark eyes.

“Guys, we’ve gotta go.” When the other three turn to regard him, he jabs a thumb back toward the front entrance to the warehouse, “Looks like Homeland Security came for a real visit.”

Exchanging a quick look, Akira and Dean get quickly back to their feet, Akira storing the bag and knife to their rightful places as they hurry toward the back entrance of the warehouse. Their door slams closed just seconds before the security guards come bursting into the room with the real Homeland Security agents right behind them.

Escaping out behind the warehouse, the four peer cautiously around a corner before making their way as casually they can across the lot toward the gated entrance. An alarm blares behind them, echoing throughout the large lot and startling flocks of birds from the nearby trees, sending the supernatural investigators bolting for the gate, even though they can clearly see it’s topped with barbed wire. Even knowing they could toss their jackets up to protect themselves from getting scratched up, Akira knows scaling the fence won’t be an easy job in their dress shoes, which she’s having a hard time just running in to get away.

(I guess I’m going to have to toss them over first, unless we can get around the fence somehow!) Her eyes darted quickly over her shoulder back toward the warehouse, anticipating guards to appear at any moment before whipping her head back around as Sam grabs her and hoists her up, knowing she wasn’t the strongest when it came to scaling a fence. She grabs for the chain link, peering through to the other side toward the brush where they’d hidden their cars, wishing they were already there when a strangely warm feeling curls around her belly, contrasting with the feel of something cool brushing past her face, blowing her hair back away from her skin, like that of a strong headwind. When she blinks and looks around, she and Sam are suddenly beside her van; he carefully puts her down as he surveys the area, blinking slowly himself before glancing back in the direction they had just come.

“Weren’t we just….?” He looks at Akira with wide eyes as she continued to blink herself, confused as to what had just happened. She thought back to what she’d been thinking just seconds ago while they were still on the other side of that fence and her eyes widen in sudden realization as she looks at Sam.

“I-I think…I just teleported us over here….” Sam’s eyebrows raise in surprise at her words and she chews her bottom lip anxiously, folding her arms before her, as though suddenly frightened; although she and Arashi knew they were different, possibly supernatural, it could still be a tad disorienting when a new power suddenly decided to pop up out of the blue like this. They were useful, yes, especially for their cases if they needed to find out information quickly, but they were still all new, powers neither twin was fully able to control as of yet. They’d gotten better at controlling their telepathy and block out thoughts that they didn’t need to know, but trying to focus their power on a person they did want to mind search was still a chore in of itself. Usually they had to be looking directly at the person to be able to read their minds, although there had been a time or two when both twins had been able to read a person’s mind from across a room when they just pictured their faces in their own minds. They were still trying to hone in on this skill, which was getting easier over time, much like their telekinesis. Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain had to be exercised in order for it to be used effectively, meaning starting out small was the best option. The twins had started just by moving smaller objects, like pens and pencils, slowly graduating to bigger, heavier ones the further they got, much like the instance with the hunter knife the morning Sam and Akira had come back to the motel room with coffee.

“What in the hell was that?”

Dean’s loud voice jolted Akira out of her thoughts, making her look up and blink at him and Arashi as they came around the bushes where she and Sam were standing, the elder Winchester brother staring at her with wide eyes, as though she’d just grown another head. Arashi was frowning himself, although he didn’t look mad, just a bit curious as he cocked his head at his sister, who rubbed her neck.

“We think it might be another power popping up….” Sam pointed out after a few seconds, seeing Akira was still trying to wrap her brain around it herself, “Probably teleportation, if I had to guess.”

Dean’s brow furrowed deeply and he opened his mouth to argue, but Arashi put a heavy hand on his shoulder, “Maybe we can discuss this somewhere else, where our asses aren’t on the line.”

Conceding someone reluctantly, Dean cast the young woman a worriedly cautious look before he turned to trudge toward the Impala with Sam not too far behind, leaving the twins to climb into Akira’s van, where Arashi encouraged her to write down their latest power in her notebook while he drove.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The yellow dust the team collects his brought back to the airport and taken straight to Jerry to inspect since he was the only one the four felt they could trust. He immediately takes the new evidence to his office, where it’s put under the lense of a microscope, which Jerry hooks up to his computer so they can see what he does. Jerry examines the strange dust, clicking his tongue in thought.

“Strange….this stuff is covered almost completely in sulfur.”

Sam and Akira, who’s recovered from her shock from earlier, exchange looks, frowning together before Sam asks Jerry if he’s sure. He invites the duo to have a look through the microscope himself while something they can hear the sound of something metallic can be heard getting hit with a small, heavy object; a low, male voice growls out in frustration, evidently in a very foul mood. Jerry sighs and relinquishes his spot to Sam.

“If you all will excuse me, I have myself any idiot to fire.” And with that, he left the team to investigate the strange dust they had found; Dean crosses his arms and watches as Sam peers into the microscope curiously while Arashi leans his head on his bent knee, eyes narrowed tightly in thought.

“Hm….sulfur in a place that it couldn’t realistically appear on it’s own….there aren’t really many things that could cause that, you know.”

“Aside from demons….” Akira agreed, taking her turn on the microscope as Sam turns to regard their brothers, “But then, it would explain how a normal human man could be able to open an emergency hatch under so much pressure….”

“Especially if he was possessed.” Sam interjected, crossing his own arms as he glanced quizzically at Dean, who was rubbing his chin in thought, frowning deeply to himself.

“Yeah, but this goes way beyond anything we’ve seen before….it’s not just a person floating above their bed or barfing up pea soup….” He was speaking slowly, contemplatively, as he let himself get lost in thought, “I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a demon possessing someone to take down an entire airplane before….”

Sam and Akira turn to frown at Dean as Arashi nods his head in agreement, “He is right, this is highly unusual….neither of us have ever heard of something like this. Ever.”

Judging by the serious look on the young man’s face, neither of the other two adults can bring themselves to doubt his words; neither Sam nor Akira can even think of any instances of such supernatural attacks happening themselves, which made this case one of the more difficult that they would have to crack.

“Well, now that we know what’s in this….” Sam indicated the microscope as Akira removed the slide with their sample, “We should go and do a little bit of research, see if we can’t find any similar attacks like this. Maybe it could help us solve this case once and for all.”

Nodding together in agreement, Dean and Arashi agree they should find a nearby motel to set up a base and begin their research, following their younger siblings out of the airport without any argument. Jerry tells them of the motel closest to them and watches as the team drives off back toward town, promising he’d tell them if anything else came up while they were gone.

After deciding to split a single room among them, the four set up base at the motel Jerry had suggested and get to work on researching past incidents or cases like their’s. In full research mode, they’ve brought in old hunter books that Dean and Arashi begin to leaf through while Sam and Akira look up articles and old information on their laptops; it isn’t long until their walls are covered in dozens of different articles and images, similar to how John had had his motel room during their first case with the Woman in White. A few articles are even strewn across the floor while Dean and Arashi occupy the beds, with Dean sitting up against the headboard with his legs crossed while Arashi hangs off the end of the other bed, reading one of the hunter’s books closely.

“Every single religion in all the world’s cultures have their own concept of demons and demonic possess…it’s kinda staggering, isn’t it?” Arashi glances over the duo sitting at the table, making them look up, “There’s Christian, Native American, Hindu, just name it and it has something about demons and possess, yadda yadda.”

“Hm….” Akira hums in agreement, leaning her head in her hand as Dean ruffles through a few of the books spread out across the sheets next to him.

“That may be true, but not one of those religions comes close to describing something like this….” He sighed, tossing one of the smaller books to the side and running and irritated hand through his hair.

“That isn’t entirely true,” Sam argued as he found an article on Japanese beliefs, “It says here that the Japanese believe certain demons are behind certain disasters, both natural and man-made.”

“I remember reading about that.” Akira looked up from her laptop once more, “They were talking about certain demons that can cause earthquakes or typhoons, even one that can cause disease.”

“So this demon causes plane crashes?” Dean swings his legs over the edge of his bed and got to his feet, crossing his arms as he joined Sam and Akira into the small, attached kitchen, “So, what, we’ve got a demon that evolves with the times and can figure out a way to ratchet up the body count faster?”

“Seems like it….” Akira leaned back in her chair, crossing her own arms as Sam scrolls further down the page, “Who knows how many planes this thing could’ve brought down already, even before flight 2485…”

There’s a thump as Dean wrinkles his nose and snorts, turning away with a dark look on his face; Sam and Akira both watch as he leans against the counter, crossing his arms tightly before him, furrowing their brows together while Arashi joins them, fixing the bottom of his shirt, which had come up when he’d fallen off the bed.

“This certainly isn’t our normal gig, is it….” He leaned against the counter with Dean, crossing his own arms as well, “I mean, the most we’ve seen demons want to do is cause death and destruction wherever they go….but this is way bigger than that….”

Dean nodded his head in agreement, his lips set into a thin white line as his eyebrows furrowed deeply over stormy, dark brown eyes, “Makes me really wish dad was here…”

Akira and Arashi exchanged a quiet look, almost wishing their own father was here with them as well while Sam murmured his agreement. The ringtone on Dean’s phone decides now seemed the best time to sound from within his pocket, however, breaking the brief feeling of melancholy that had fallen over the four adults. Dean pulls the device from his jacket and accepts the call.

“Hello?” there’s a brief pause in which the other three can hear the person on the other end response while Dean’s expression clears, just the slightest bit, “Oh, hey, Jerry, what’s up?” Dean’s expression darkens once more as Jerry explains something to him, his face slackening sadly; their conversation is brief, although in the few minutes it lasts, Dean’s expression has darkened considerably to resemble that of a storm cloud, even as he hangs up.

“Was it another crash?” Akira asked softly as she closed her laptop, watching Dean run a hand down his face as Arashi nods his head quietly, having heard most of the conversation since he was standing right next to his best friend throughout the exchange. His own expression was grim, his lips set as he stared at the aluminum floor at his feet, fists clenched tightly on either side of his ribs.

“Yeah, it was Jerry’s buddy, Chuck Lambert…he died in a plane crash. We have to go check out the crash.” He pushed off the counter and went to grab his keys from the bedside table while the others exchanged a look with one another, cocking their heads in unison before they returned their attention to their brother, “Where did they crash?”

Dean’s voice was taut, unimpressed, as though he didn’t like the very idea of where they needed to go, “Nazareth.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

An hour later finds the team back in Jerry’s office with a sample from Chuck’s plane crash, which Jerry is examining through the microscope once more. The others watch him silently with identical frowns on their faces, already knowing what he was going to find in the samples they’d brought back.

“It’s more sulfur, isn’t it?” Arashi cocked his head from where he leaned against the wall by Jeff’s desk, cocking his head the slightest bit to the side. Jeff gave a single nod in agreement as he lifted his head from the microscope lense, frowning deeply. Dean sighed, tipping his head back against the wall.

“Great…just great….” He pursed his lips as he tipped his head forward again, pushing off the wall behind him and crossing his arms tightly over his chest. “All right, so we’ve got two plane crashes that’ve involved Chuck Lambert. Almost sounds like the demon’s after him or something….”

“If that were the case, with all due respect to Chuck, that would be the good news, then.” Akira frowned, clasping her hands together in her lap, wrinkling her brow as Dean frowned thoughtfully at her, cocking his head.

“That would be the good news….? Geeze…what could the bad news be, then?”

“Hm, well, if we look at the reports here….” Arashi looked over what they had written about Chuck’s plane crash, frowning quietly to himself at he looked over his sister’s notes, “Looks like both this crash and flight 2485 went down exactly forty minutes in.”

Jerry raises a brow from behind his desk as he leans back in his chair, crossing his arms tightly over his chest, “Does that have any great significance?”

“Yeah, it’s a biblical numerology.” Dean explained, tapping his fingers rhythmically against his arm, “Like with Noah’s arc; it rained for forty days. The number corresponds with death.”

“During the drive here, Aki and I did some more research on this subject.” Sam interjected, taking out his own notes, “In the last decade, there have been six plane crashes that have occurred forty minutes into their flight.”

“Did any of them have any survivors?” Arashi turned his attention to Sam now, who shook his head.

“None, except for flight 2485, for one reason or another.” Akira chewed her bottom lip and played with a stray strand of hair falling over her shoulder, “And do both of you remember the EVP we found on the cockpit voice recorder?”

“‘No survivors…’” Arashi exchanged a look with Dean, whose frown deepened in thought. His eyebrows raised suddenly as an idea struck him.

“The demon’s going after all the survivors…” he exchanged a look with the rest of his team, “It’s trying to finish the job.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The team is on the road not too long after this to contact the remaining survivors of the first plane crash; Sam and Akira use the numbers Jerry gives them to call them while Dean and Arashi make a beeline straight for Indianapolis, where the flight attendant, Amanda Walker, was due to catch an eight o’clock flight for her first night back on the job.

“Yes, sir, all right, thank you so much for your time. And remember, if you’re planning on flying, please don’t forget your friends at United Britannia Airlines.” Akira said cordially to the man on the other end of the call, nodding to herself as he thanked her and preceded to wish her a good day, “Thank you, goodbye, sir.”

“Manage to get ahold of Dennis?” Arashi asked from the front seat as he peered at her through the rearview mirror; Akira squeezed herself between the two front seats and got herself as comfortable as she could as she pulled her seatbelt across her body.

“Yeah, it doesn’t look like he’s going to be flying anytime soon.” She sighed slightly, already scrolling through her phone to dial Sam; he picks up even before the first ring finishes, “Hey Sam, did you talk to Blaine Sanderson at all?”

The phone was set on speaker and placed in the empty cup holder between the seats while Sam confirmed he’d managed to get a hold of Blaine, who seemed just about as eager to fly as Dennis had been when Akira had talked to him. She reported this in turn when Sam asked her how her conversation with the other man had gone.

“Sounds like our only wildcard left is Amanda…” Arashi flexed his fingers anxiously on the steering wheel, pursing his lips tightly as he squinted out the windshield at the rear lights of the Impala just ahead while Akira was chewing her bottom lip and pulling at a few strands of hair as she glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard.

“I dunno if we’re going to be able to make it to the airport in time to stop her, though….” She twirled her fingers faster in her hair, mentally calculating how long it would take them to reach Indianapolis before Amanda’s flight was due to depart. “Even just reaching Indianapolis is five hours…and I don’t think we’d be able to get there in time, even with Dean and Arashi driving….”

“What if one of your tried calling Amanda’s cellphone again?” Dean spoke up, his voice tight, as though he was concentrating heavily on their task and refused to even consider giving up on it, “We might have the chance to head her off at the pass if you do.”

“Dean, Akira and I have each already left her three voice massages.” Sam explained, the frown clear in his voice, even through Akira’s speakers, “More than likely she’s turned off her cellphone or something….”

“Looks like we’re gonna have to hustle then if we’re going to at least try.” Arashi told them as he pulled into the lane alongside Dean and the two pressed down on the accelerators on their cars, racing one another toward Indianapolis while their siblings mentally prayed that they would be able to get them to their destination both quickly and safely.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Miraculously the two daredevil hunters are able to get the team to the airport in just under two hours, much to both Sam and Akira’s utter astonishment and admiration. As soon as they’re parked, the four head straight inside and make a beeline for the nearest Departure Board to search for the flight leaving at eight. Akira and Sam spot it at the same time and point it out to their brothers.

“We’ve still got a half hour before they start boarding the plane.” Akira sighed out in relief as Dean starts looking around for a nearby courtesy phone, which he spots just a short walk away by a small hub of payphones.

“Good, we’ve still got some cards to play here.” He sighs out as Arashi makes a beeline for the phone and takes it off the hook. The other three gather around him to listen as he speaks to the person on the other end, telling them their location and that he needed to contact Amanda Walker. Akira hurriedly whispers to him her flight number, which he gives to the airport services. A few minutes later, the PA system comes online, echoing loudly throughout the building around them.

‘ _Amanda Walker, Amanda Walker, you have a phone call on the white courtesy phone in gate thirteen.’_

Sam and Akira exchange an anxious look as Dean leans in close to hear with Arashi, who’s practically bouncing on the balls of his feet while he waits for Amanda to pick up. The knuckles of his hand holding up the phone to his hear are as white as bedsheets, even as they can clearly hear the woman’s voice echo out from the earpiece.

“Hello Miss Walker,” Arashi was sure to keep his voice even, almost professional even, while Dean, Sam, and Akira all sigh out slowly in relief that she had answered, “This is Dr. Johnathon Adams of St. Francis Memorial Hopsital. We have a Miss Karen Walker here with us?”

Akira allows the walls around her own mind to drop a little as she connects her mind with her brothers to listen in on the conversation, hoping silently to herself that he would be able to convince her not to get on the plane. Amanda sounds puzzled at Arashi’s fib and Akira can almost see the crease in her eyebrows as she repeats her sister’s name back to him.

“It’s nothing too serious to worry about, Miss Walker, really, it was just a minor car accident. She was injured, though, so –“

“No, wait a minute, that’s impossible,” Amanda cuts Arashi off abruptly, confused, “Karen can’t be in the hospital, I just got off the phone with her.”

Akira winces as these words bring Arashi up short, his chin raising a bit as he let this sink in while his features tighten, “I’m sorry, what?”

“Yes, I just got off the phone with Karen not five minutes ago…” Amanda’s voice was still confused, although Akira could sense a hardening tone just lingering around the outer edges as her suspicions rose, “She’s at home, cramming for a final. Who in the world is this?”

Arashi cleared his throat and began trying to recover, “Hm, well, there’s obviously some kind of mistake here…”

Amanda wasn’t listening, “Who are you and how the hell did you know I was even here?”

Sam chances a sideways look at Akira, who’s frowning deeply as she watches her brother struggle to come up with some kind of excuse on the spot, her face scrunching a bit as she meets his eye and crosses his arm. Dean grabs the phone and pulls it toward him, trying to save his best friend’s ass as Amanda asked if this was a friend of someone called Vince.

“Actually it’s a couple of them,” Dean chuckled weakly into the mouthpiece, trying to sound apologetically sheepish; Akira can hear Amanda scoff on the other end, “Look, Amanda, he’s really sorry…”

“Yeah, well you can tell Vince to just mind his own busy and just stay out of my life, all right?” Amanda’s voice was haughty now, as though just the mere thought of this Vince guy was ticking her off; Dean’s face slacked a little, his smile dropping in response, “Yeah, okay, but…look, he really just needs to see you tonight, so –“

“No, I’m sorry,” Amanda cut Dean off before he could even finish his sentence, “It’s too late.”

“Aw c’mon, Amanda,” Arashi piped up, turning the phone so it was nestled between him and Dean, giving both of them the chance to speak with her, “You really shouldn’t be like that, the guy’s really just a big pathetic mess.”

A pause in which Sam and Akira exchange a look while Amanda considers this.

“Really…?” she whispers out, caught between disbelief and cautious hope.

“Of course…the guy really cares about you.”

Another voice on the end of the line interrupts the conversation, drawing Amanda’s attention away for a couple of seconds before she begins to speak again, “Look, I’ve really got to go now….just tell Vince to call me when I land.” She tells them hastily before the line goes dead, even as Arashi and Dean try to convince her not to go. Dean growls out in frustration and slams the receiver down as Arashi runs his fingers through his hair, messing it up even more than it already was. The Intercom buzzes to life.

‘ _Thank you for flying United Britannia Airlines.’_

Sam and Akira exchange another quick look as Akira pulls out of her brother mind, “Looks like it’s time for plan B.” Sam turns away from the others toward the ticket counters, “We’re going to need to get onto that plane.”

Dean looks up at this, his eyes immediately bugging as though they were about to pop out of his skull, “Woah, woah, wait a minute.” He held out a hand to stop Akira before she can go after Sam, who’s stopped just a few feet away, turned back to look at his brother with a raised brow. “Dean, we don’t have a minute, okay? That plane is leaving in twenty minutes with over a hundred passengers on board.”

“He’s right, Dean.” Akira looked beseechingly at Dean, frowning at the sudden nervous edge she can see in his usually calm, hard rock eyes, “If we don’t do something, that plane is going to crash. We need to get on it, now.”

“I-I know….” He looked away nervously, shifting his weight uneasily from one foot to the other and fidgeting anxiously with the ends of his sleeves while Sam and Akira can only look on, perplexed. Arashi puts a steady, reassuring hand on his friend’s shoulder, frowning deeply.

“What’s the problem here, then?” Sam rejoined them, crossing his arms, “If we can get on that plane, we’ll be able to find that demon and exorcise it properly. You two can head back for the cars to get whatever supplies you can out of the trunk that we’ll be able to slip past security while Akira and I get the tickets. We’ll need to regroup here in five minutes.”

Sam turned to head for the ticket counters again, putting a hand on Akira’s shoulder to bring her with him, only to pause at the anxiously terrified look on his brother’s face as he stared after him. Akira frowned at Dean, searching his face as she put a gentle, reassuring hand on his arm, having never seen Dean so jumpy or anxious in her entire life, not even when they were kids.

“Dean, what’s the matter, are you okay?”

Dean shook his head as Arashi sighed, squeezing his shoulder tightly as he looked between Sam and Akira, “Dean has a bit of a problem with…” he indicated the glass wall facing out onto the runway, where dozens of planes were pulling in and out of the terminals, their white and red lights bright in the dark gloom of the night. Sam and Akira glance in that direction, then back at the two men, their eyebrows raised slightly in disbelief.

“Dean has a problem with planes?” Akira crossed her arms and cocked her head as Arashi shrugged, “More like flying in general, really….we just haven’t really had a lot of issue with it until now…”

Sam and Akira looked at one another, caught between empathetic to Dean’s fears, yet almost exasperated at the same time as they turned back to their brothers, “You’re not joking, are you?”

Dean’s expression darkened the slightest bit as he glared at the two, “Does this look like something we’d joke about?” he snapped, clenching and unclenching his fists as he took a deep breath to calm himself, “Why do the two of you think we drive everywhere?”

Sam held up a calming hand, “All right, Dean, all right, we get it.” He gave Dean a reassuring look as he met Akira’s gaze once more, this time for a split second, “It looks like we’re going to have to go, Aki.”

“Woah, wait,” Dean stopped them before they could move, stepping out from under Arashi’s hand as he looked between the two incredulously; they both looked back calmly as though the plan they had now was completely rational.

“Akira and I are going to do this mission on our own.” Sam told Dean, ushering Akira toward the ticket gates as Dean stared incredulously at him.

“Are the two of you nuts or something? Akira said that plane is going to crash, Sam!”

“Yeah, but someone needs to be on it if we don’t want it to crash.” Arashi pointed out logically, frowning at his best friend, “Look Dean, someone needs to get on that plane and save those people and either all of us can go, or Sam and Akira can. We don’t have any other options.”

Dean glanced back at Arashi with the same wide-eyed stare before turning back to Sam as he nodded his head in agreement, causing the eldest of the group to let out a frustrated sigh in response.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

‘ _Flight attendants, please be sure to cross-check the emergency exits before departure.’_

Arashi looks up at the intercom announcement as he’s going over the plane’s safety card with Dean, who keeps anxiously shifting in his seat as he tries to distract himself. The knuckles on the hand on the armrest are white, strained, and his face betrays the obvious fear he feels while they wait for the plane to take off. A gentle hand on Dean’s arm makes him jump and turn as Akira is holding out a portable MP3 player, offering him a reassuring smile as she leans across the aisle toward him.

“Thought maybe some music could help.” She told him, earning a small, but grateful, nod in return as he took the MP3 while she squeezed his arm, “Just try to relax, Dean, all right, you’ll be okay. Just imagine you’re in a message chair at our dad’s house, okay?”

Dean nods quietly in agreement as he puts the headphones in, relaxing just the slightest bit at the familiar strings of Metallica as the plane begins to take off. Akira rubs Dean’s arm soothingly for another moment and then leans back into her seat, glad to see the music seemed to be helping him, even though the occasional bump and jolt of the plane around them still seemed to terrify Dean out of his reprieve. Sam leans around her curiously, quirking a brow at his brother as he alternates between relaxed and tensed, his body clenching and unclenching with each soothing note and jolt of the environment around them.

“Metallica?” he turned his attention to his best friend, who was already busying herself with his father’s journal; she nods without looking up as she flips through the old, handwritten notes, “Figured one of the bands he likes would help calm him down. We can’t exactly let that demon get to him if he’s all tensed up and nervous….after all, demons tend to go after a person with some kind of weakness, something that leaves a chink in their armor that it can slip through. Could be someone with an addiction or some kind of emotional distress. Those bastards eat stuff like that up like candy…”

Sam nods his head in agreement and relaxes back into his seat, letting his gaze sweep over the passengers in the rows before them, “All right, so, we have to find someone who’s emotionally distressed, aside from Dean, who’s possessed by this demon and perform a full-on exorcism. All in –“ he checked his watch, “thirty-two minutes.”

“Yeah, I’m sure performing an exorcism on a crowded plane is going to be a cake-walk.” Arashi whispered from the other side of the aisle, earning a warning glare from his sister, although his voice was soft enough that the other passengers didn’t seem to hear it, not even Sam, who glanced around her with a frown, as though trying to figure out what had distracted her. “What was that?”

“Arashi just being sarcastic, like usual.” Akira told him as she returned her attention to the book, pursing her lips thoughtfully to herself, “For now, we’re going to have to just take things one step at a time…first we need to find the person the demon is possessing…”

“Isn’t this Amanda’s first flight since the crash?” Arashi pointed out, still just loud enough for Akira to hear, making her cock her head as she looked at him again, “If I was in her shoes, I’d be real nervous about flying again.”

Akira hummed to herself as she mulled this thought around in her mind for a moment, “hm, interesting….it’s certainly worth a shot….” She murmured to herself, turning to tell Sam about Arashi’s revelation as he stopped one of the flight attendants, asking her politely if she was Amanda. When she denied this, he spotted the other attendant at the back of the plane and guessed that was the woman they were looking for. Apologizing cordially to the first woman, Arashi watched he walk off before he nudged Dean, who took out his headphones, frowning curiously at him as he quickly explained the situation. Dean glanced back to where Arashi had spotted Amanda.

“Dean and I will go talk to Amanda now,” Arashi says, nudging Dean until he got to his feet so he could slide across the seats to the aisle to join him, “Maybe we can get a reading on her mental state.”

“Do you have anything to use if she’s already possessed?” Sam quirked a brow at the two as Dean nods and inconspicuously pulled a Virgin-Mary shaped bottle of water from his pocket. “Holy water.”

Akira grabs for the bottle and hurriedly slips it into the pocket of her own jacket, giving Dean a withering look as he raised his eyebrows at her quizzically, “You need to be a bit more subtle than that, Dean, you can’t just walk up to someone and spray them with water like it’s nothing.” She glanced over her shoulder, then back up at Dean as Arashi stood up behind him, “If you want to check to see if she’s possessed, then say something that could cause her physical pain, like the name of God. She should flinch.”

Dean’s express cleared then and he gave a small, proud nod, “Ah, nice. We’ll do that, c’mon Ara.” He motioned Arashi after him as he started toward the back, but Sam reached past Akira’s head to grab his sleeve, “Dean, be sure to say it in Latin, it’ll have more of an affect.”

Dean cast his younger brother a withering look, as though offended that he actually thought he would have to remind him, “I know.” He shrugs Sam’s hand off and turns to leave again with Arashi behind him.

“Don’t forget it’s Christo.” Akira called after them as she’s returned to her book, smiling at the exasperated sigh that carries back to them as the plane begins to shake and Sam settles back into his seat. Arashi grabs onto Dean as he stumbles into an empty aisle seat, leaning into it for support before straightening himself once more, reassuring his best friend he was alright as they continued down the aisle. One of the pilots came onto the intercom as the two slip past the curtain into the back room, where Amanda is fussing over the refreshment cart.

“Hey there.” Arashi greeted as he supported Dean against him half leaned into the back wall, the color slowly, but surely, leaving his cheeks. Amanda turns to the two men, smiling lightly, although concern touches her eyes when she spots the anxious look on Dean’s face. “Is your friend okay?”

Arashi nodded, rubbing Dean’s back gently, “Yeah, Dean’s a strong guy, he just isn’t all that comfortable with flying, you know? He feels better if he can get up and walk around a little bit…I just wanted to be double sure, you know?”

A kind smile touched Amanda’s face in understanding, “Ah, well, stiff like this can happen to the best of us, can’t it?”

Dean gives a very weak chuckle, nodding, “Yeah…but, you know, with you being a stewardess, I’d guess flying came easy to you.”

Amanda laughs lightly in amusement, shaking her head as both men can see the nervous edge to her eyes they hadn’t noticed before.

“I’m sure both of you would be surprised.”

Arashi cocked his head slightly, “Are you a nervous flier as well?”

Amanda rubbed her neck and gave a small, almost sheepish, nod, “Yeah, just a little bit….”

“Did something cause it?” Dean asked as he adjusted himself against the wall, hurriedly placing his hands on either side of his body for better balance as the plane gave another shake. Amanda glanced away, an uneasy expression unfolding over her features, ‘Its kinda a long story….”

Arashi smiled apologetically, “You don’t have to tell us about it if you don’t want to, Amanda. We’re sorry if we made you uncomfortable by prying.”

Amanda turned her gaze to the tow and smiled once more, her expression softening reassuringly, “No, it’s all right, really.”

“Hey, Amanda, did you ever think about finding other employment?” Dean asked, earning a quizzical look from the woman, blinked for a moment before shaking her head, her smile lessening the slightest bit, “No, I enjoy being a flight attendant. Everyone has something to be afraid of, everyone has a fear, but, you know, I’m not going to let something like that hold me back.”

Dean and Arashi were both surprised at the young woman’s conviction and determination to conquer a fear, not to mention impressed. Although there was still the question as to if it was really her talking or the demon they were trying to hunt. Arashi offers her another smile.

“Well, that’s very brave of you, Amanda, very commendable, really.” He told her sincerely, putting a hand on Dean’s shoulder once more, “Well, we should head back to our seats so Amanda can get back to work. We wouldn’t want Christo to worry.”

Amanda blinks as the two men pause for a moment to watch her reaction to the name, her head cocking the slightest bit to the side as she furrows her brow at them. When neither can see it has any affect, Arashi steers Dean back out into the aisle and to their seats.

“All right, well, it isn’t Amanda,” Arashi told Sam and Akira, who both look up at their return while the two buckle themselves back in, “Man, that is the most well-adjusted woman I think I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“You said Christo?” Akira cocked her head, earning a nod in return, “And what happened?”

“Nada,” Dean sighs, tipping his head back into the seat, “No possession now or ever.”

“All right, so, we’ve got one person down….” Akira played with a strand of her hair once more, “But then, the demon on the plane could be in any one of the other passengers or staff…”

The plane gives a hard jolt that makes Dean clutch tightly to the arm rests and grit his teeth almost audibly.

“Seriously?! This can’t be normal!” he hissed out as the other reassured him it was just a bit of turbulence from the wind outside. He cast a withering gaze over each of them.

“Would you guys quit treating me like I’m friggin’ four?! Each of you has said it yourselves, this plane is going to crash!”

“Dean, you need to calm down, just breath,” Akira told him soothingly, demonstrating by taking a few slow, deep breathes, only for Dean to quickly shake his head, silently telling her he couldn’t.

“Can we just stow the touchy-feely, self-help yoga crap here, it isn’t helping!” he snapped, making the other three frown in concern as Akira reached over to put a reassuring hand on Dean’s arm.

“Dean, we know you’re panicked, but this isn’t going to help us find that demon. You know if you’re letting your emotions run wild, you’re leaving yourself open to demonic possession. So, please, we need you to calm down.” She told him slowly, calmly, as she wills him to take a deep breath with her through his nose, then let it out slowly through his mouth. The tension slowly leaves his shoulders and he relaxes, just the slightest bit as Sam and Arashi sigh in relief.

“Good…now the two of you should know that Akira and I’ve managed to find an exorcism in her book that could work.” Sam took the book out carefully from under Akira’s other arm, tapping the page they’d stopped at, “It’s called the Rituale Romanum.”

Dean and Arashi both peer past Akira as she leans back in her seat once more and turns back to Sam, “All right, so what do we have to do?”

“The ritual has two parts,” Akira held up a finger, “The first part will expel the demon from it’s victim and makes it manifest in it’s own form, which, unfortunately, can make it more powerful.”

Dean and Arashi exchanged an uneasy look, “More powerful? How?”

“Well, without needing to possess another being, the demon is free to wreak havoc on it’s own, especially without anything holding it back.”

“Is that supposed to be a good thing?” Dean raised his eyebrow skeptically as Akira nodded, “Yes, because the second part of the exorcism will send the bastard back to hell once and for all.”

“Well great,” Arashi chimed in, crossing his arms, “Sounds like that’s a solid lock, but we’ve still got one problem. Finding the thing.” He reached into his pocket to pull out his EMF meter, nudging Dean. “Looks like we’re going to need to do a little leg work.”

Nodding in agreement, Dean pulls out his own EMF and the two men get to their feet, putting the headphones attached to each device in their ear. Each take a half of the plane and begin going slowly up and down the aisle, getting anxious looks from the other passengers as they pass the device slowly along each aisle. Sam and Akira watch them go for a few minutes before Akira returned her attention to the book, marking the page as she closed it and handed Sam the vial of holy water. Neither move for about another fifteen minutes, at which time they decide to go check in with their brothers to see if neither of them has a reading. Akira catches Arashi toward the front of the plane, near the cockpit, where he’s just finished checking the last row of passengers as she reaches him, although his body almost immediately tenses even before she touches him, his eyes focused intently on a point just ahead.

Frowning to herself, Akira peers past him just as a rancid stench hits her full on in the face, causing the hair on the back of her neck and her arms to raise. It was a very strong, stinky kind of smell, almost like that of rotten eggs, which caused Akira’s nose to wrinkle as the EMF in Arashi’s hand suddenly spiked. The sliding bathroom door opened at that moment as the copilot exited and headed back for the cockpit while a single word danced just on the edge of the twins’ tongues.

“Christo.” They chant together, making the copilot pause with one hand on the door handle, his shoulders tensing as he slowly turned to face them, fixing both of them with pure black eyes. A couple of heartbeats pass the three stare at one another, then the copilot turns and disappears into the cockpit, leaving the twins to exchange a look.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“She isn’t going to believe us….” Sam told Dean and Arashi a couple of minutes later as the two led the way down the aisle toward the back of the plane; as soon as the twins had told their friends about what they’d found, they’d quickly come to the decision of enlisting Amanda’s help in capturing and exorcising the demon.

“We don’t really have the time to hesitate about this, now do we?” Arashi muttered back to Sam as they stepped through the curtain into the back, where Amanda turned to greet them, asking Dean how he was handling their flight. Dean gave her a serious look as Sam closed the curtains behind them.

“That’s actually what we need to talk to you about….”

Amanda blinks a little in confusion and looks from Dean, to Arashi, then to Sam and Akira where they stand against the far wall before she turns her attention back to Dean, cocking hr head.

“Oh, all right, then…what can I do for the four of you?”

Dean takes a deep breath and exchanges a quick look with Arashi, who nods encouragingly, “All right, well, this is gonna sound really nuts, but we don’t exactly have the time for the whole ‘the truth is out there’ speech.”

“Amanda, we know about your last flight, before this one, on 2485.” Akira spoke up gently, giving the other woman an empathetic look as the smile slips from her faces and she stares between each of them once more with wide eyes.

“Who are you people?”

“We’re just a group here to help.” Arashi reassures her, “To keep you safe.”

“Amanda, we’ve spoken to a few of the other survivors of the crash,” Sam told her gently, calmly, “And we know for a fact that something did bring down that plane that wasn’t a mechanical failure.”

“And we really need your help to stop this plane here from crashing.” Dean told her, making her look at him in terror before she turned quickly away, a tremble in her shoulders.

“I-I’m sorry, I’m very busy right now…you four should –“ she moves to brush past Dean, but he catches her arm gently, stopping her.

“Woah, woah, woah, it’s okay,” his voice is calm, reassuring, as she tries to yank her arm out of his hold, which he tightens, just the slightest bit, “Look, Amanda, I’m not going to hurt you, all right? But you have to listen to me…that pilot from 2485, Chuck Lambert….he’s dead.”

Amanda stops struggling and turns back to look at Dean in disbelief, “Chuck….is dead?”

“Yeah…” Arashi sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, “He died in a plane crash today, which makes two plane crashes in two months. That doesn’t seem abit strange to you…?”

Amanda frowns deeply and chews her bottom lip, glancing away from Dean’s probing gaze, “I…”

“Amanda, we know there was something wrong with 2485,” Akira told her gently as she told Dean to let go of her so she can put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “Now we don’t know if you sensed something or not, but we really need your help now. Something is going to happen to this flight just as it did on the last.” She looked beseechingly into the other woman’s eyes, silently pleading with her to help, “Please, you have to believe us…”

Amanda searched Akira’s eyes uneasily, searching for any indication that she could be lying or this was some kind of sick, twisted joke, until she let out a slow, heavy sigh, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Well….on flight 2485…that was this one, strange man….and he…he had these eyes.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what we mean.” Sam nodded encouragingly, silently letting her know what she’d seen had been real as she cast him as she cast him and the others a quiet, somewhat quizzical look.

“But…I don’t quite understand….what are you all asking me to do?”

“We need you to get the copilot and bring him back here to us.” Arashi told her, making Amanda raise her eyebrows, “What, why? What does the copilot have anything to do with this?”

“We don’t exactly have the time to explain.” Dean told her placidly, “We just need to talk to him, all right?”

Amanda’s brows furrowed together over the bridge of her nose, “But, how am I supposed to get the copilot to leave the cockpit -?”

“Just do whatever it takes,” Akira told her firmly, “Tell him anything you can to get him back here, that there’s something broken he needs to look at. Just tell him something.”

Amanda’s frown deepened as she impatiently pushed the loose strands of hair falling in her face back into her ponytail, “Do any of you know how irresponsible that is? I could lose my job if –“

“A lot more is going to be lost if you don’t help us.” Arashi told her bluntly as he furrowed his brows deeply at the woman, who came up short at his words, glancing between him and Dean for a moment before she sighed, “All right…”

Without another word, the woman disappeared beyond the curtain to retrieve the copilot as the team gets ready. Sam readies the holy water as Akira takes John’s journal from Dean and opens it to the page she needs; Dean and Arashi position themselves on one side of the curtain, ready to subdue the man as Sam and Akira took care of the exorcism itself. They listen as Amanda and the copilot’s footsteps draw closer; the curtain is drawn back as the copilot asks Amanda what the problem was, only to be cut off as Dean lands a hard punch on his jaw, knocking him to the floor. Arashi is on the man before he can move, pinning his limbs down as Dean hurriedly duct-tapes his mouth shut and Amanda looks on in horror, her hands over her mouth.

“I thought you were just going to talk to him!” she cried shakily, watching as Sam splashes the holy water on the copilot’s skin, her eyes widening further as it sizzles almost immediately, “Oh my god….what’s wrong with me?”

“No time to explain.” Sam put a hand on Amanda’s shoulder as Akira started reading John’s journal, “but we do need you calm, Amanda. And we’re going to need you to stand outside the curtain.” He cut her off as she gave him a wide-eyed look, “Look, we just need you to keep everybody else out, okay? Do you think you can do that for us?”

Amanda takes a slow, deep breath and nods slowly, “All right.” She said promptly before she exits the backroom, closing the curtain firmly behind her. Dean and Arashi struggle to keep the demon down as Akira continues to read from the journal.

“A little faster, Aki, we can’t hold him much longer!” Arashi told her, yelping as the demon managed to free an arm and throw him backward into the wall, where he was soon followed by Dean as the demon leapt to it’s feet and advanced on Sam and Akira. Sam leapt between it and Akira to protect her, only for the demon to toss him back into the emergency door just as Arashi and Dean leap onto it, knocking it back onto the floor. Akira continues her chant, only for the demon to grab onto Arashi and send him flying into her, both twins slamming into the wall beside Sam and sliding down while Dean is tossed in the opposite direction. The demon grabs Sam by the collar then, hoisting him off his feet and snickering at him almost mockingly.

“I know what happened to that pretty little girlfriend of yours’,” he told him in a deep, throaty voice, “She probably died screaming! I wouldn’t be surprised if she still was, even now while she’s still burning!”

The demon’s words send a jolt of anger through Akira, which propels her forward to know the demon off Sam, throwing it to the floor as Dean and Arashi scramble to pin it again. She continues reading from the journal as Dean yells for Sam for help, making him snap out of his thoughts, which he quickly shook away as he moved to help his brothers pin the demon. Akira drops to help as well as she finishes the spell, dropping the book beside her, only for the demon to kick it away under the curtain separating them from the rest of the plane.

With a loud growl, black smoke bellows out from the copilot’s mouth and escapes into a nearby vent, causing the body to go slack. The four slowly release the man, sitting up together as they hurried look toward the vent where the demon escaped.

“It’s in the plane.” Arashi looks around quickly as Akira scrambles to find John’s journal, “Hurry, Aki, we’ve got to finish this.”

No sooner had he words left Arashi’s mouth than the plane suddenly gives a violent heave and begins to nose dive without warning. Screams of the other passengers fill the cabin as they descend as different items can be heard flying to and frown, hitting the walls and overhead bins, a few of which burst open, throwing luggage up and down the aisle as the oxygen masks descend from their compartments. Dean falls back against the emergency door in the back, clinging on for dear life as he lets out a loud, blood-curdling scream of his own. While Arashi scrambles to comfort his friend, Sam and Akira hurry back into the main cabin to find the journal; Akira spots it skitter down the aisle and makes a dash for it, only for her foot to catch a magazine sprawled on the floor, falling back onto her ass as she slid down the aisle herself. Sam tries to grab her, but misses, and falls face forward onto the floor himself while she grabs onto the legs of the seats on either of her, spotting the journal wedged just under one of the seats a couple of rows back, just in Sam’s reach.

“Sam, get the book!” She yells, pointing toward it as he glances up from under turbulent bangs, glancing in the direction she indicated before throwing himself under the seats to retrieve the journal. Akira looks up the aisle toward the cockpit as the dive gets steeper, bracing her feet on either side of the doorway leading into the first class cabin as she tries to hoist herself backward, eyes screwing shut as she willed the plane to level out, praying to Sam to fix the exorcism and fast. The plane continued to jerk and heave around them, only becoming a bit calmer at Akira’s will as Sam managed to retrieve the journal and fix the exorcism. As soon as the last word left his mouth, the boom of thunder sounded just outside the plane as lightning struck, sending a hug, bright electrical charge throughout the entire thing, causing the lights and electronics to flick for a few short seconds before the plane levels out. The screaming stops, although children can still be heard crying as people asked one another if they were all right. Akira sighs in relief and smiles gratefully as she accepts Sam’s help up while Dean and Arashi appear around the curtain, Dean looking as though he’d just seen his life flash before his eyes as Arashi had the biggest grin on his face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A battalion of uniformed agents are waiting for them by the time the plane is safely landed at the nearest airport terminal; paramedics take the injures and traumatized from the group and usher them toward their ambulances for medical attention while others are questioned by the police and FBI, including the flight crew. The copilot has been brought off the plane in a wheechair and wrapped in a blanket as he’s being questioned by an FAA Agent, who he tells he doesn’t even remember boarding the plane. Amanda herself is being questioned nearby by an FBI Agent as the team stands across the flight strip from her. When she spots them, she mouths a quiet ‘thank you’, which they answer with small nods and smalls. Dean nudges Sam.

“C’mon, let’s get out of here.” He leads the way toward the exit with Sam and the twins not too far behind, glancing back at his brother, who’s been quiet since they finished the exorcism. Sam has a deeply concentrated look on his face, his brows furrowed as his lips are set in thought. Akira exchanges a look with Arashi, who pats Sam’s shoulder.

“Hey, you okay there, Sammy?”

Sam suddenly stops as though he’s just been jolted back to reality, although he doesn’t lift his head to meet any of their gazes, “Guys….that demon knew about Jessica….”

Akira felt a twinge in her chest at the memory and she grit her teeth quietly as she put a reassuring hand on Sam’s shoulder, squeezing tightly. Dean frowned at him, crossing his arm.

“Sam, you know creatures like that can read minds and they lie all the time….” He clapped a hand on Sam’s shoulder, “he was just messing with your head, that’s all.”

Sam let out a slow sigh and nodded, conceding, “Yeah, okay…” Dean nods, “All right, then, let’s go.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next day, the team returns to report back to Jerry, who seems relieved to know the mission was complete and that they all came back safely. Even so, a sad look still remained in his eyes.

“You know, it isn’t always fair that hardly anyone knows what you guys do.” He told them with a sigh as he shook his head, “But I do know and appreciate what you did, especially since you saved all those people.” He smiled and got to his feet, shaking each of their hands, “I’m sure John’s gonna be real proud.”

Sam gives Jerry a small, wry smile, “Thanks, Jerry….we’ll see you around, okay?” he turns to lead the way toward the Impala and van, but something seems to occur to Dean, who pauses halfway, looking back toward Jerry.

“Hey, Jerry?” the other man cocked his head, “I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you get my new cell number, anyway? I’ve only had the thing for about six months.”

Jerry blinks a little, “I got it form your dad.”

The other three pause and turn back to stare at Jerry, wide-eyed, as Sam returns to Dean’s side, “You talked to our dad? When?”

Jerry suddenly looked sheepish when he saw the hopeful looks on their faces. He scratched his neck, “Well, I mean, I didn’t talk to him directly, but I did call his number. Got sent straight to voicemail. He said to call Dean if I needed help. Thanks again, guys.” He nods and leaves the four as they exchange looks with one another.

“Okay, this really doesn’t make sense….” Arashi scratches his head, confused, as the team head back for their cars, “We’ve called Uncle John’s number how many times since he’s gone missing?”

“About a hundred and eight.” Akira sighed, shaking her head, “And yet each time we’ve tried, it’s always out of service.” She chews her bottom lip, glancing toward the Winchester brothers, who’re each lost in their own thoughts as they gather around the Impala. Dean pulls out his cell phone and dials John’s number before putting it on speaker phone so all four of them can hear as the voice message begins, each of their hearts giving a painful twinge at the familiar voice speaking to them from the small device.

‘ _This is John Winchester. I can’t be reached at the moment, but if this is an emergency, call my son, Dean, at 785-555-0179, or godson, Arashi, at 785-555-9219. They can help.’_

A furious look crosses Sam’s face as the message ends and Dean hangs up the phone, his jaw clenching tightly as he shakes his head slowly back and forth, as though totally and completely exasperated. Without a single word, the youngest Winchester climbs into the Impala and slams the door, leaving his brother and the twins to exchange worried looks before Dean joins Sam in the car. The twins climb into the van together and the hunters set off to find their next job.


	6. Bloody Mary

_“Akira.”_

_Blue eyes snapped open at the soft voice, body jerking upward, scouring the room with a pang in her chest at the familiar surroundings; moonlight slanted through the break in the curtains of the windows on either side of the bed, casting long beams of pale blue light across the peach colored carpet and the white panels of the folding closet doors, silhouetting the square mirror atop her oak dresser. The double glass doors leading out into the rest of her apartment glinted faintly across from her, drawing the young woman’s attention; the doors were slightly ajar where she would usually have them closed while she slept, the uncomfortable prickle intensifying as the hair on the back of her neck rose._

_“Akira.”_

_The drapes hanging over the glass doors twitched with the whisper of window that filtered past the doorframe, drawing her from bed; crisp bedsheets wrinkled as she pushed the thick comforter from her body and swing her legs over the side of the bed, feeling one of the pillows from the pile against the headboard roll onto the floor beside her. She didn’t make a move to retrieve it, her attention focused solely on the source of the voice calling her name as she stood from her bed and cautiously crossed the room, pausing alongside the hope chest standing by her footboard, watching the shadows move beyond the swaying drapes, her heart thrumming in her chest._

_“Aki…ra….”_

_Her throat felt tight as she swallowed, steadying herself mentally as she moved toward the double doors, each step heavy, like someone had laden her feet down with lead, practically dragging across the soft fibers of the carpet. Her palms closed over the cold oval knobs and she pulled them open, listening to the soft swish of the whitewash doors sliding across the carpet, the hinges squeaking faintly._

_The rest of her apartment was much the same as it had always been, just the way she’d left it that final night before….she forced back the memories of that last night, her hands tightening momentarily around the door knobs before she released them once more and stepped through the doors into the main room. Her feet moved across the smooth wooden floor, eyes scanning the moonlit room, watching light glint off the TV screen and the little jarred candles sitting on her coffee table, the metal faucet a bright white color that contrasted well with the glint from the wine glasses hanging over the kitchen counter next to it. Almost instinctively her eyes lifted to the little wall clock behind the TV, heart thundering in her ears._

_Just like that night…the hands of the clock had been frozen in place at a quarter past ten._

_“Akira.”_

_Her head snapped away from the clock, eyes finding her apartment door, the thinnest sliver of white light peeking through the crack between the door and it’s frame. Her body turned and began to move toward it almost automatically, her heart racing in her chest, blood rushing behind her ears as she reached slowly for the door knob._

_A bright flash of light nearly blinds her as she pulls the door open, her free hand coming up instinctively to shield her eyes as she squeezed them shut and turned her face away, only glancing up again when she knows it’s safe to do so._

_Sam and Jessica’s apartment is just beyond her own door, tinted a pale blue white the same as her own, just as it had always been. Her hand rests against her doorframe for support, feet practically dragging across the floor as she steps inside, scanning the familiar room, feeling tears sting the back of her eyes. A picture on one of the little tables under the windows catches her attention and it takes a great deal of willpower for her to be able to just cross the room to pick it up._

_Sam and Jessica beam at her from the frame, Jessica’s arms wrapped around Sam as she looks over her shoulder at the camera, one of his arms wrapped around her waist as his other hand has a bottle of beer in it. A banner over their heads reads ‘Happy Birthday, Sam’ in big red letters and confetti can clearly be seen in both their hair, although there is a noticeable absence of any type of party hat. A weak smile crosses Akira’s lips at the memory of that day, knowing Sam had never had much of a celebration for his birthday and refused to have parties, although she and Jessica had privately planned one for just them and Sam’s friend, Luke._

_“Akira.”_

_Her body almost immediately tensed at the voce, shoulders straightening as her fingers tightened around the picture in her hands. She turned, her body moving almost painstakingly slow, each move calculated, measured, as though she thought any sudden, jarring movement would break her before she could regard the source of the voice behind her._

_Her heart almost stopped in her chest at the mournful face that stared back at her as she finally met a pair of wide blue eyes, framed by strands of straight blond hair. The picture slipped from her fingers, clattering loudly to the floor as she took a step back, tears gathering rapidly in her eyes._

_“J-Jess…”_

_Jessica stared sadly back at Akira with her head cocked the slightest bit to the side, scanning her face as though searching for something, “Why’d you do it, Akira?” she whispered, watching as Akira began to slowly shake her head back and forth, “Why did you let me die….?”_

_Akira stifled the sob climbing her throat, gulping back her tears, “Jess, I – I….I never wanted….please, I didn’t….”_

_“Why, Akira?” Jessica peered closer at her face, watching almost emotionlessly as tears slipped down her cheeks as she shook her head again. “Why?”_

_“Please, Jessica, I didn’t – I didn’t want this….I didn’t –“_

_Flames burst to life around Jessica, hair and night dress waving in the invisible wind they created. Akira felt like her heart was being gripped in a vice. “Jessica!” she sobbed, covering her mouth as she watched the flames spread rapidly across the apartment, swirling around her in a whirlwind of hot wind and ash. Jessica flickered before her, fading into the licking flames; Akira felt the tears stream down her face and she reached for her, “Jessica!”_

_Fingers closed on air as Jessica disappears completely from sight, leaving Akira standing in the center of the swirling vortex of flame, her hair swirling around her face as her clothes rustle restlessly in the strong wind; her eyes scan the endless flames, searching desperately for a single sign of the other young woman. Something disrupts the endless sea of orange, yellow, and white to her right, drawing her attention; she whirls in that direction, eyes swimming with tears, spotting a dark shadow flickering in and out of sight._

_“Jess?” she called out for her friend, taking a few steps toward the shadow, reaching out again; it gets bigger, as though it’s moving through the flames toward her, but just enough until she sees something that resembles a face. She takes another step closer, her hair prickling once more, cheeks still slick with tears as she narrows her eyes, trying to get a better look._

_The shadow doesn’t move from it’s spot amid the flames, still like a statue, the only discerning features she can see the features of his face. It’s a man, his face thin and long, the shadow of stumble just along his jawline and chin. A smirk twists his thin lips upward, a deliberately cocky expression, as though he knew something she didn’t, causing a deeply unsettled twist in her chest, which only further tightened as her eyes met his, her breath stopping abruptly in her throat._

_Pure yellow eyes stare back at her, the smallest bit of black the only indication of a pupil resting in the center. Her hair rose at the sight, heart jumping in her chest, body tensing instinctively._

_“Wh – who are you?”_

_The smirk widens his lips and he opens his mouth as though to answer, but then something shoves Akira’s shoulder, throwing her off balance. She caught herself, however, and glanced around in the direction she felt the shove, perking at the sound of a familiar voice._

“Akira,” Something shook her shoulder as the flames around her died away, darkness falling like a heavy cloud in it’s place. “Hey, Akira, c’mon, wake up!”

_“Arashi?” she whispers to herself, feeling him shake her shoulder once more, pulling her further into the darkness, her eyes snapping back in the direction she’d seen the smirking face from before. It was still there, pus yellow eyes focused solely on her, that same confident, cocking smirk dancing on his lips even as it slowly faded in the darkness._

_“No! Wait, you never answered me! Who are you?!” she yelled into the darkness, her skin prickling at the deep throated chuckle that bubbled past the man’s lips._

_“You’ll find out soon enough, Akira.” He told her confidently before he faded completely from sight. Akira opened her mouth to yell out after him again, her stomach twisting into a pretzel in her chest, but her shoulders shuddered with the next force of her brother’s shove. Light was beginning to filter in through the darkness, pulling her back to the waking world as Arashi’s voice became louder, like it was moving closer._

“Hey, Akira, wake up!”

Akira jolted as Arashi gave her body another firm shake, her hands coming up automatically to grip his forearms as she feels him holding her up by her shoulders. She blinks, glancing around the back of the van as her breathing leaves her lips in short pants, eyes wide for a moment before she settles her gaze on her twin’s, watching the concern flicker behind his rust colored brown irises.

“You wanna talk about this one or are you gonna pass like the others?” he asked, quirking a brow as he watched her unzip her sleeping bag the rest of the way and toss it off her so she could yank her shoes onto her feet. She avoids his eye uncertainly, making him sigh as he scooted past her to rest the sliding door, “Suit yourself, sis. But, just remember, I’m always here if you need to talk, okay?”

Akira grabs at the back of his jacket before she can stop herself, glancing up briefly to meet his gaze once more as he looks over his shoulder, his frown deepening as he can fell the tremble in her grip through the leather. He shifts to face her again, “So, you do want to talk?”

She seems a bit uncertain, but gives a small nod, “Yeah….just not right now when we’re out in the open….maybe once we have some privacy or something….?” She mumbles, glancing down again. Arashi gave her a gentle look and put an arm around Akira, pulling her close for a hug, “We can talk whenever you’re ready, Aki, you know I’ll always listen.” He whispered into the crown of her head, rubbing soothingly circles into her back as she gripped the front of his shirt, nodding quietly, gratefully, “Thank you for understanding, Ashi.” She whispered, feel the rumble in his chest as he chuckled lowly.

“What’re siblings for, huh?” he pulled back to look at her once more, brushing his thumb across her cheeks and smoothing back a couple of unruly strands from her face, “We’re not just here to annoy you, you know.”

Akira smiles weakly and nods in understanding as there’s a knock on the side of the van.

“Hey, are you two coming or not?” Dean’s voice calls from the other side of the sliding door, causing the twins to exchange bemused looks with one another as Arashi releases Akira, who runs agile fingers through her hair to tame her bedhead, “Yeah, yeah, we’re coming, hold your horses, Winchester.” He calls out to his friend, sliding the side door open so he could hop out onto the pavement. Akira follows not too far behind, tying her hair hastily into a ponytail as she does so while she scans the area.

The team is parked just outside a large building, where a sign outside reads ‘Toledo General Hopsital.’ Akira gets out of the van as she tightens her scrunchie around her hair, a few loose strands framing her face. The obituary of one Steven Shoemaker had brought the four here to Toledo, Ohio to investigate; apparently, the forty-six year old husband/father had died quite suddenly not a few days’ prior, leaving behind his two young daughters. Their first stop for their investigation was the morgue.

“So, any ideas what might have really happened to this guy?” Sam asked as he indicated the newspaper where they had found Mr. Shoemaker’s obituary, which was circled in red ink. Arashi and Dean shrugged as Akira took the newspaper from Sam to go over it again.

“Not a clue right now, but we’re going to figure it out, one way or another.” Dean said, watching Akira toss the newspaper into the back of the van before closing and locking up the vehicle. “C’mon.”

He indicates for the others to follow as he heads inside; Arashi folds his hands behind his head as he falls in step behind Dean while Sam and Akira follow at a slower pace. In the lobby, they follow signs pointing to the morgue, which is one floor down, in room 144. Inside are two desks, one which is empty but marked with a nameplate that reads Dr. Feiklowicz. The other is marked with Morgue Technician. The man behind this desk peers up at them as they enter, greeting the four when they reach him. Dean and Arashi greet him in turn as Sam and Akira give small nods.

“Can I help the four of you?” The young man cocks his head curiously, turning away from his desktop to address them fully. Dean offers a smile and nod.

“Yeah, we’re the, uh, we’re the med students.” He said, indicating the four of them, watching as the tech’s eyebrows raised in question, his frown deepening, “I’m….sorry?”

Dean opens his mouth to speak again, but Akira shoves him with her shoulder, moving forward to speak to the technician herself with a kind smile, “Yes, we’re the med students from Ohio State that came here for a field trip. We talked to Doctor Feiklowicz just yesterday about coming here to observe one of his patients, Mr. Steven Shoemaker for our term paper.”

The man eyed Akira for a moment, as though in an attempt to sniff out any lies before he spoke again, “I’m sure it’s very important, but I’m afraid the doctor’s at lunch at the moment.”

Akira forced shock onto her features as she chewed her bottom lip, “But I’m sure Dr. Feiklowicz said to come now….we must have gotten the wrong time or something…” she glanced back at the boys as though to confirm this, “He did say quarter after twelve, didn’t he?”

Arashi scratched his cheek thoughtfully and then nodded, “Yeah, I’m sure I heard him say it. He said to come to the hospital at this time so we could see the body.”

Akira sighed deeply as she turned back to the morgue technician, furrowing her brows with a slightly embarrassed look, “It must have been a mistake….when is Dr. Feiklowicz supposed to be back?”

“In about an hour.” He replied, causing Dean to hiss in a breath through his teeth.

“Oh, we can’t wait that long….” He sighed heavily himself, scratching the back of his neck, “See, we’re supposed to be heading back to school by then.”

“He is right.” Arashi agreed with a nod, messing with his hair anxiously, “We need enough time to be able to get back to write this paper for tomorrow. It’s like half our grade. Please, man, couldn’t you just help us out -?”

The tech gives Arashi a dry look, “Sorry, man, but no.”

Dean laughs forcefully and turns to grumble something to Sam as Arashi’s face twitches in annoyance. Akira clears her throat then, elbowing her brother to tell him to keep quiet, knowing there was only one of two ways left for them to be able to get in to see that body. She mentally sighs to herself, already feeling dirty for having to resort to this.

Glancing at the tech once more and shifting herself into the man’s view, the young woman pushed her bottom lip out in a pout, cocking her head quizzically to the side so her hair fell away from her neck, exposing it to his gaze as she spoke, “Is there any way we’d be able to get in to see Mr. Shoemaker’s body without Dr. Feiklowicz, sir? Please?” she asked him in a persuasively low voice, leaning toward him, her hands clasped behind her, upper arms pressing tight to her sides to emphasize her chest. The tech eyes her with interest, his eyes flashing as his Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. The other three men can do nothing but watch in amusement as the resolve flickers behind his eyes, especially as she leans her forearms on the desktop, resting her breasts on top of them as she leans further in, her head still cocked to the side, “Just one quick look wouldn’t hurt, would it? We promise, we’ll be in and out in a flash.” She told him, her voice lower than before, sultry; the poor guy was done for.

Flicking his gaze from her chest to her eyes, the tech quickly scans the room to be sure no one else was around before returning his attention to the young woman as he got to his feet. It took him several tries before he was able to clear his throat enough to speak.

“If you’ll follow me.” He told them in a somewhat tight voice as he indicated them to follow and walked out from behind his desk toward the labs. Akira pulled herself upright again and followed him without meeting any of her brother’s gazes out of shame. Arashi is not too far behind his twin, snickering to himself at how easily she was able to bend the tech to her will while Dean clapped Sam on the back, chuckling.

“Damn, Akira sure knows how to work her magic, doesn’t she?” he grinned like a Cheshire cat as he looked to his younger brother, who seemed to jump a little at the sudden touch, as though he had been jolted back to reality all of the sudden. He cleared his throat, his fists unclenching at his sides.

“Uh, yeah, she…she really does…” he mumbled his agreement, frowning after the trio, his chest tight, a deep, unsettled feeling in his stomach at the way the technician had been looking at his best friend. There was no denying Akira was an attractive young woman with a lot to offer and Sam knew using her looks on the opposite sex on some of their missions was necessary for them to be able to get in places they couldn’t generally go, but that still didn’t make watching it any easier….especially not with the way the men always looked or acted around her afterward. It seriously unsettled him and he felt the urge to protect her, even though he knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself should danger arise. There was just something about all of it that he really did not like….he didn’t necessarily know what it was….he just knew he didn’t like it. Not one bit.

Sighing quietly to himself and pushing these strange feelings aside, Sam shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled after the others into the other room, where they were already gathered around Steven’s corpse. The morgue tech had already uncovered his face, although the rest of his body was still hidden under the white sheet. Although pale, the man still looked like he’d been fairly healthy when he’d died. Akira had asked the tech about what they’d read in the paper of how the man had been found with his eyes bleeding. The tech pointed out that his eyes had practically liquefied, not just bled. Dean and Arashi exchanged somewhat perplexed looks.

“Were there any signs of a struggle?” Dean asked, snapping his fingers to get the tech’s attention as he shamelessly checked Akira out while she was checking the corpse out; Sam narrowed his eyes at the tech and subtly moved alongside his best friend, blocking his view as effectively as he was able as Dean spoke to him, suggesting someone might have found a way to do this to Steven. The tech shook his head with a somewhat disgruntled look, glaring silently at the youngest Winchester for blocking the great view.

“None that we can think of right now.” He told Dean, turning his gaze somewhat reluctantly to him now, “The only other person in the house with him at the time was his daughter…”

“Has the doctor made an official decision for the cause of death?” Sam quirked a brow as he glanced at the tech out of the corner of his eye, noting the heated look he sent his way as he turned to him once more. He eyed the taller man, as though seizing him up before he spoke again.

“No, he hasn’t.” he told him quietly, glancing down at the corpse again, “His money’s on a massive stroke, though, so it could have been an aneurysm. Obviously something burst up here,” he tapped Steven’s forehead, emphasizing his point, “No question about that.”

The twins turned to regard the tech quizzically, Arashi leaning his hands on the side of Steven’s metal bed as Akira put her hands on her hips, cocking her head to the side as she exchanged a quiet look with Sam out of the corner of her eye, “Would you mind explaining further?”

The tech glanced up at Akira once more, his lips twitching, “There was intense cerebral bleeding. Mr. Shoemaker’s brain was practically drowning in blood when he was brought in.

Akira made a mental note of this as she glanced down at the corpse before her, furrowing her brows thoughtfully as Sam asked the tech what he thought could cause his eyeballs to bleed the way they had when he died. The tech gave a somewhat noncommittal shrug.

“Obviously the capillaries burst.” He told Sam, his voice taut, condescending, like he felt like he should have already known this, “Bloodshot eyes are common in stroke victims.”

“Not so common to see the eyes exploding though, is it?” Arashi shot back with raised eyebrows, matching the tech’s tone warningly, silently telling him to chill the fuck out before he got a fist up his nose. He seemed to hesitate at this, eyeing the young man, who raised his eyebrows challengingly, inwardly smirking as the tech subconsciously submitted, glancing away from him as he shook his head, doing his best to play the situation off nonchalantly.

“Nah, this is really a first for me.” He admitted, his voice somewhat quieter than before as he shrugged once more, “”But, then again, I’m not the doctor here.”

“Hm,” Dean nodded his head, fighting the smirk wanting to cross his lips at watching the tech getting knocked down a peg as he eyed the corpse once more before turning back to the other man once more, “Hey, do you think we might be able to get a look at that police report? For our paper, you know?”

The tech eyed Dean now, his eyes flickering momentarily, that cocky confidence returning as he shook his head, “Sorry, I’m not really supposed to show any of you that.”

Akira has to fight to keep from sighing or letting her head fall forward in exasperation as she mentally prepares herself while Sam frowned at the tech in disbelief.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I feel like I need at least ten showers to wash all that away.” Akira grumbled twenty minutes later as she stormed purposefully out of the hospital, her arms crossed tight over her chest with a clearly disgruntled look on her face. The three men follow her at a safe distance, none of them wishing to incur her wrath should she decide to take out what had happened inside out on one of them.

“Doesn’t help that this doesn’t seem all that supernatural.” Sam pointed out quietly, looking just as edgy and put off as the young woman, who turns to give him an irritated look for even saying something like that. He avoids her hot gaze, “Well it’s true, isn’t it? This just seems like it could be some freak medical accident.”

“It doesn’t feel like that, though.” Arashi piped in, his gaze on the sky, hands folded behind his head once more as he pursed his lips. “While we were in there, something felt off about the corpse. I’m still not quite sure what, but it just gave me this strange vibe, kind otherworldly, you know? A lot of the stuff that jackass said made sense, but how could you possibly explain his eyes bleeding?”

“Arashi is right,” Dean said as Akira nodded her head in agreement, having sensed the same thing her brother had while they’d been examining the corpse, “There’s something unusual about the way that guy died. You heard that guy, his eyes practically liquefied and his skull was full of more blood than is usually normal. Besides, look at dad’s track record. How many times has he ever come across some freak medical accident that hasn’t involved some supernatural creature being behind it?”

Sam paused to think about it, frowning to himself, brows causing a crease over the bridge of his nose, “Almost never.”

“Exactly.” Dean agreed as the twins nodded their heads as well, moving around the hood of Akira’s van.

“Let’s go talk to Steven’s daughter now, hopefully we can get a little something out of her.” Arashi says as he closes the passenger door after him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The street outside the Shoemaker household is lined with the cars of those attending Steven’s funeral and the team lets themselves through the open front door as they arrive. The crowd inside is dressed in the customary black usually found at funerals and a few turn to stare at the four as they enter, seeing they don’t seem to be dressed properly for the event. Arashi scans the room, meeting a few of the other guests gazes as Akira checked out the picture of Steven Shoemaker they’ve set out on a desk in the front room.

“Anyone else feel underdressed?” he looked between his twin and the Winchester brothers; Dean shrugs his shoulders, nonplussed, as Sam shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“Probably would have been a good idea if we at least dressed up in our fed suits.” He muttered quietly, just loud enough that the other three could hear him. Akira nodded her head in agreement as she straightened herself up once more, brushing her bangs back out of her face thoughtfully.

“Bit late for that now, isn’t it….?” She sighed, glancing around herself, her brows furrowed deeply over her eyebrows, causing a crease over the bridge of her nose as she met some of the other adult’s uneasy, suspicious gazes, “Anyway, let’s just find Steven’s daughters and get the information we came here for….”

The Winchester brothers nodded their heads in agreement and lead the way toward the back of the house, where the rest of the crowd was gathered together in the backyard. The twins scan the crowd as Dean asked a man nearby where they could find Steven’s daughters, Donna and Lily. The sisters are found by the edge of the yard with a couple of friends.

“Excuse me,” Akira smiled kindly at the young women as she approached them, inclining her head in greeting. “Are the two of you Donna and Lily?”

The eldest of the two nodded her head, “Yes, I’m Donna.” She indicated the younger girl beside her, “And this is my sister, Lily.”

Akira nodded to both of them, “My name’s Akira and this is my brother, Arashi,” she touched her twins’ shoulder as he grinned at the two, “And our friends Sam and Dean.” She indicated each as she said their name, “We worked with your dad.”

Donna exchanged a look with one of the other young women with her before eyeing each of the adults in turn, “Really?”

“Yeah, we did,” Sam nodded his head, giving her an empathetic look, “We wanted to come give our respects and tell you how sorry we are for your loss.”

“Yeah, this whole thing really has to suck, huh…?” Dean indicated the crowd around them, which was chattering among themselves, a few of them shooting the Shoemaker daughters sympathetic looks while other eyed the four not dressed in the proper attire, “I mean, that stroke and everything….”

Donna’s friend, Charlie, frowned deeply as she glanced apprehensively at Dean, as though silently warning him not to say another word, “I really don’t think she wants to talk about this right now…” she said, her shoulders squaring as though she was ready to drive the four away if necessary, a protective edge to her eyes. Donna put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, shaking her head.

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine.” She reassured, giving a small, meek smile before turning back to the group as Arashi asked her if she’d noticed any symptoms that could have indicated a stroke. Donna shook her head in response as her sister tuned into the conversation, pointing out that their father’s death hadn’t been caused by a stroke. Donna frowned at her, her eyebrows furrowing as her forehead creased, a worried edge in her gaze as she put a firm hand on Lily’s shoulder, as though to stop her from saying anything else. Dean and Arashi exchanged looks as Sam and Akira looked between the sisters, frowning together.

“Is….there something neither of you are telling us?” Akira asked gently, furrowing her own brows empathetically as she scanned each woman’s face. Donna forced a reassuring smile onto her lips as she regarded her once more, her grip tight on Lily’s shoulder, “Lily’s just upset about our dad’s passing, I’m sorry.”

Lily shook her head, frowning deeply, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, “It’s because dad’s passing was my fault.”

Donna turned to her once more, the smile slipping from her lips as her face scrunched, her other hand gently holding Lily’s as she tried to get her to look at her, “Lily, don’t say that, that isn’t true.”

“She’s right, Lily,” Akira tried to sooth her as she cocked her head at the teen, who turned to her with swimming eyes as Sam bent down to her eye-level, frowning quietly, “What could make you think something like this?”

“I summoned her….” Lily admitted in a tight voice, blinking as a few small tears escaped down her cheeks, her whole body trembling with unrestrained guilt as she hugged herself tightly. Akira touched her arm, frowning, “Summoned who?”

“Bloody Mary,” Lily forced the name past her lips, her eyes darting around quickly as though she thought the legend would appear to tear her limb from limb right here in the yard, “I said it three time sin the bathroom mirror and then….” She clenched her fingers around her arms and squeezed her eyes shut, pausing for a moment as though to gather herself together again before she could attempt speech, “She came and took his eyes, just like she’s done to others.”

Donna’s hand squeezed Lily’s shoulder tightly as she slowly shook her head back and forth, giving her sister a deep frown, her eyes ablaze with concern, “Lily, that isn’t how Dad died, none of this is your fault.”

“Your sister is right, Lily.” Arashi spoke kindly to the teen as she turned her attention to him, tears slipping past her eyelashes as he gave her a reassuring smile, “Bloody Mary only goes after those that say her name in front of a mirror, not anyone else, so there’s no way it could have been her. Your dad didn’t say it the night he died, did he?” he cocked his head curiously, raising a brow in question; Lily paused for only a second to think about it before she gave a slow, deliberate shake of her head. “See? Then it couldn’t have been that, all right?” he reached over to pluck some tissues from a nearby table and offered them to Lily, who took them with a quiet nod as she wiped her tears away.

The team left the sisters and their friends not too long after that to give them the chance to breath as they headed back inside, agreeing silently to check out the scene of the crime upstairs with the guise that they were only looking for the bathroom. They follow the stairs to the second floor, passing a mirror at the top before rounding a corner leading down the hall to the bedrooms. Steven’s room is the second door on the left, indicated by the dried blood stain left on the carpet by the foot of his bed.

“Any of you think a hunter’s ever proven the Bloody Mary legend to be true?” Sam muttered as they scrutinize the bedroom from the hallway for a moment before Dean and Arashi walk inside to check out the dead man’s belongings while Akira kneels to examine the stain left on the carpet.

“It doesn’t seem like it…” Akira frowned quietly as she ran her fingers delicately over the stiff fibers, pursing her lips in thought, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen even a single entry about it in any book I’ve read on hunting, not even in Uncle John or dad’s journals and those two seem to be two of the better men of the trade.”

Sam hummed quietly in thought as he crossed to the bathroom, checking around the medicine cabinet before pulling it open to check out the contents inside, “You’d think there’d at least be something about it, with how much kids everywhere else in this country play it and still live to tell the tale.”

“Seems like the mere legend in those other places has become reality here….” Arashi said as he checked out the family photos propped up on the dresser, his head cocked curiously while Akira stood, putting her hands on her hips in thought, “Almost like….it was born here or something….” She glanced between the three men as she shifted uneasily on her feet, furrowing her brows deeply over the bridge of her nose while Sam closed the medicine cabinet once more.

“This one is strange, though….” He frowned at his reflection, “It’s usually the person that recites the woman’s name that’s supposed to be attacked, but in this case –“

“It was Steven.” Dean looked over from checking out the bedside table drawers, pulling himself upright as the others nodded their agreement; the eldest of the group frowwed his brows in thought, however, and crossed his arms slowly as he considered all this, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard something like this before, though….but, we can’t overlook it, seeing as how the guy did die right in front of his mirror. Lily’s right, too…you know who does scratch your eyes out if you summon her to your mirror.”

“Well, it definitely couldn’t hurt to look into something like this.” Akira sighed as Sam rejoined them in the bedroom and Arashi stiffened in his spot, his head turned slightly to stare at the wall in the direction the stairs were.

“I think we have company.” He told his friends, quickly ushering them out of Steven’s room and closing the door just as Charlie rounds the corner. She freezes when she sees them and narrows her eyes suspiciously at the group, her lips pursing as her body tenses in defense.

“What’re you four doing up here?” she snapped, crossing her arms; Arashi smiled easily, charmingly in the hopes it would ease the tension, “We had to use the bathroom, that’s all? Now we were just –“

“Who the hell are you people?” the young woman cut in tautly, obviously not buying the lie as she glared the man down. Akira did her best to arrange her own features into a reassuring expression, her head cocked the slightest bit to the side as a small smile twisted her lips.

“We’ve already told you, Charlie, we’re co-workers of Donna’s dad.”

Charlie shook her head quickly before Akira even finished her sentence, pining her with the same piercing glaring, “Donna’s dad was a day trader, he worked by himself.”

Dean started to try to backtrack in an effort to keep their cover from being blown completely, but Charlie spot over him, squinting her eyes tighter, “And all those weird questions you were asking downstairs, what the hell was that about?” she passed her hard gaze over each of them, her jaw gritting, “One of you had better start talking or I’ll start screaming.”

“Okay, okay,” Sam held his hands up in surrender, giving Charlie a look that said he conceded to her whim, “Look, we think something’s happened to Donna’s dad.”

Charlie’s eyes rolled, unimpressed as she snort, “Yeah, he had a stroke.”

“No, he didn’t,” Akira sighed, shaking her head, conceding as well, “All the signs he’s shown don’t point to a regular stroke or anything like that. The four of us here think that something else might have happened…”

Charlie furrowed her brows and turned her head slightly to eye the four once more, shifting herself slightly, her expression softening into hesitant curiosity, “Like what?”

“We aren’t quite sure yet.” Akira admitted, somewhat sheepishly, although she continued to meet Charlie’s eye unwavering, “But we do know we’ve got to stop it before anyone else ends up like Mr. Shoemaker. And we are going to stop it, one way or another. That’s the truth.”

Arashi shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, his grin smaller than usual, as though he was unsure how to act around the woman now, afraid to be reprimanded again, “If you’re still planning on screaming, you can go right ahead, but that isn’t going to stop us from doing this.”

Silence passed between the five for a couple of heartbeats as Charlie scrutinized the team, her expression still guarded, suspicious, “Are the four of you cops or something?”

Sam and Akira’s expressions softened the slightest bit as they did their best not to let the smiles creep across their faces as they glanced back at their brothers, who each shrug.

“Eh, something like that.” They replied in unison as Dean put his hands in his own pockets while Akira pulled out a piece of paper and pen from hers’, scribbling her and Sam’s cell phone numbers before holding it out to Charlie.

“Here, we’ll give you this just in case of emergencies.” She handed the piece of paper over, returning the pen to her pocket, “If something happens, either you or one of your friends notice anything strange or out of the ordinary, be sure to call one of us at those numbers. We’ll come to help.” She gave Charlie a kind smile before following Arashi and the brothers down the hall and out of sight.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The local library the team went to next was rather small, only a single floor with the main floor crowded with shelves while rows of computers lined the far wall and a desk stood in the corner. The lighting inside is rather dim, leaving the interior full of shadows, even with the natural sunlight seeping in through the windows.

“All right, for argument’s sake, let’s say Bloody Mary really is haunting this town.” Dean glanced around the poor excuse of a library around them with a frown, his brows furrowing a bit as they headed across the dim room toward the computers, “There has to be some kind of proof that it has ties here….”

“Like the grisly murder of a local woman?” Arashi quirked a brow as he shoved his hands into his pockets, checking each of his companions’ faces as Sam and Akira both nodded, sighing deeply.

“The problem here is that this legend has become so widespread that many different versions of it has popped up in different regions throughout the country.” Akira crossed her arms and cocked her head slightly in thought, “And it’s changed so much, I don’t know if anyone knows the original story anymore, or even who the woman really was. There are at least fifty versions of her true identity alone.”

“She’s right,” Sam frowned to himself, narrowing his eyes in thought, “One story says Mary was a witch that got burned at the stake, another states she was a mutilated bride.”

“All right,” Arashi cocked his head with a frown, furrowing his brows, “So, if there are so many different stories about this woman, are there specifics we should be looking for?”

“Well, no matter how varied the stories are, they always have a few key things in common,” Akira pointed out, shrugging “The most obvious would be that the legend’s about a woman named Mary and there’s always a mirror involved. In the witch version, she had a magical mirror she used to watch her victims, mostly children she lured away in order to eat, which she trapped her own soul inside. Any other story involves a woman being brutally murdered in front of a mirror.”

“For this case, we’re going to have to search all local newspapers and public records as far back as possible in order to find something that could connect to this,” Sam agreed, “See if we can’t find a Mary that fits the bill.”

“Well, that sounds fun.” Dean grumbled sarcastically, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Arashi pat his back, chuckling faintly, “C’mon Dean, it won’t be that –“ his sentence trailed off as the team reached the tow of computers and paused, staring at the ‘Out of Order’ signs tapped up on each monitor. Another faint chuckle escapes him, “Hm, well, never mind then.”

Akira lets out a frustrated sigh, pursing her lips tightly, “Well, let’s see if there’s anything on the shelves that could be useful and find a motel.” She turned on her heel and headed for the shelves while the three men stared after her, Arashi cocking his head as Dean quirked a brow a bit.

“Stubborn, isn’t she?” he looked at Sam, who shrugged a bit as he turned to follow his best friend toward the shelves himself, hoping they could find some records hidden among the books that would help them in their search. Arashi chuckled in amusement, cocking his head the slightest bit to the side, “They’re certainly two halves of a whole, aren’t they?” he grinned, earning a chuckle in return from his best friend.

“Hm, bit too thick to realize it, though.” He shook his head slowly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, “Probably will be for a long time…”

“Well, you know what they say, sometimes you can’t appreciate what’s right in front of you until you lose it…..” Arashi trailed off at the thought, his frown returning as he wet his lips, his eyes trailing the bookshelves in an effort to spot his sister through the thick volumes. He saw her shadow fall across a row halfway down one of the aisles and sighed slowly as Dean watched her silently, his eyebrows pulling together, jaw gritting so the veins on his neck stood out under his skin, “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that….” He muttered, his fists clenching protectively in his pockets as another shadow fell across hers’ and they heard Sam’s muffled voice from the other side of the shelf, easing the tension from both men’s shoulders as Arashi gave the slightest bob of his head in agreement.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Several hours later would find the team settled into a room at the local motel on the edge of town, leafing through photocopies of records they’d found at the library and scrolling through different sites online for any past cases that could tie Bloody Mary legend to their job. Dean and Arashi share the table as they use their sibling’s labtops for online research while Akira paces in front of the couch on the opposite end of the room, leafing through the photocopies in her hand, eyes quickly scanning each page reverently, even as they’re glazed over, as though she was off in her own little world. Sam had fallen asleep on one of the double beds and was twitching in his sleep, muttering something in his sleep that would make Arashi glance in his direction every once in a while, knowing he was dreaming about Jessica again, his lips pulling together into a thin line as he returned his attention to the screen in front of him. He jolted awake after about a half hour and blinks as he scans the motel room, taking in his surroundings before he’s able to relax, one hand lifting to rub the sleep from his eyes while something seems to jar Akira out of her repreive, the focus returning to her eyes.

“Why’d you three let me sleep?” Sam muttered as he sat up, frowning deeply at the trio as Akira’s pacing seems to pick up and she flips faster through the papers in her hand, ignoring the question. Arashi types something on her laptop, humming to himself as Dean shrugs slightly.

“What can we say, we’re awesome friends.” He glance dup briefly, “So, you wanna tell us what you were dreaming about now?”

“Rainbows and unicorns.” Sam replied sarcastically, earning an eye roll from his brother as Arashi chuckled under his breath, “Did any of you find anything…?”

“Just a whole lot of frustration, really.” Arashi leaned his head in his palm, frowning at the screen in front of him, his eyebrows pulling together again. “But not much else and we’ve looked through everything. There have been a few local women that committed suicide in front of a mirror, one named Laura and the other Catherine….”

“And there was one guy named Dave who got crushed by a giant mirror.” Dean pointed out, crossing his arms as he leaned heavily back into his chair, “But, uh, nothing about a woman named Mary….”

Sam glanced in Akira’s direction, but Arashi waves a hand, “I wouldn’t bother asking her, Sam, she hasn’t spoken since you fell asleep, so I really doubt Akira’s found anything.” He sighed, watching Sam let out a groan and flop back on the bed, scrubbing his face with his hands, “Maybe we just need to keep looking….”

“We did extend our search to strange deaths in the area, too…” Arashi scrolled down the page, pursing his lips a bit, “Even tried looking up anyone who’s eyes bled like Shoemaker’s, but so far we’ve come up empty. Whatever’s going on around here, maybe it isn’t Mary after all.”

Sam and Dean exchange looks as Akira’s cell rings; she pauses in her pacing and reaches into her jeans pocket to retrieve it, furrowing her brows at the unknown number before she answered it. The three men turn to look at her curiously as she speaks into the phone, the confusion leaving her features as her face scrunches, eyes darkening and eyebrows raising closer to her hairline as she listens to the person speaking on the other side of the line. When she hangs up, her face is grim, the photocopies in her hand flopping onto the couch as she exchanges them for her jacket.

“That was Charlie, there’s been another attack.” She informed the silent room, snatching her keys from the bedside table as Sam swings his legs over the edge of the bed and gets to his feet, following her to the door. “C’mon, let’s go!” she snapped back at Dean and Arashi, who hurry to shut down the laptops and grab whatever they needed before following the two out of the motel room.

The team meets Charlie at a nearby park, where she’s waiting for them to arrive on a bench by the parking lot; she looks like she’s been crying as they approach, her face and eyes red, blotchy, her hands clasped in front of her shakily as she stares out into the field in front of her. She jumps when Akira touches her shoulder, having not heard the four come up and whirls around with wide eyes, only relaxing when she sees it’s them.

“It’s okay, Charlie, it’s just us.” Akira reassured as she took a seat beside her, putting a reassuring hand on her arm as Dean sits on the back of the bench on her other side. Sam and Aashi stand a few feet in front of them, Arashi crossing his arms as Sam folds his hands in his pockets. Akira rubs Charlie’s arm gently, “Now, why don’t you tell us what happened….?”

Charlie looks between each of the four in front of her and her eyes fill with tears once more; she drops her head and sobs into her hands, shaking, as she explains about the call from Jill’s mom, her voice breaking in places.

“Th-they said they f-f-found her….on the b-bathroom floor….” She sniffed, her shoulder still quivering as Akira rubbed soothing circles into his back; a sob stuck in her throat and it took a few attempts before she was able to push it back enough for her to speak again, “A-and her…her eyes, they were….they were gone.”

Sam frowns sympathetically, “We’re sorry to hear, that, Charlie….”

Charlie looks up slowly, whimpering softly, “And…and just before she died…Jill, she….she said it,” the other four adults stiffened and exchanged dark looks with one another as Akira squeezed Charlie’s shoulder tightly, “I heard her say it…I was on the phone with her when she said it…” she wiped at her eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath, “But….but she couldn’t have died because….because of that, right?” she looked pleadingly between the four with big, teary eyes, “Please, just….just tell me I’m being crazy….”

“You’re not, Charlie.” Akira told her softly, returning her attention to the younger girl and squeezing her arm tightly, “You’re not crazy or insane, trust us.”

Charlie shook her head in disbelief, forcing a laugh past her lips, “If that’s supposed to be reassuring, it really isn’t.”

“Look, Charlie.” Sam knelt down in front of her, meeting her frightened gaze with a steady, reassuring one, his hand gentle on her knee, “The four of us think there’s something going on here that can’t easily be explained, if at all.”

“But whether or not it can be explained is irrelevant,” Arashi cocked his head, smiling reassuring himself as he shifted his weight to get comfortable, “Because we are going to stop it.”

“It’s why we’re here.” Dean put his hand on Charlie’s free shoulder, “The thing is, though, we’re going to need your help, Charlie.”

Charlie looks taken aback by this, having not expected it as she looked between each of the adult’s faces before she sighed deeply, nodding her head, somewhat timidly, “All right….what do I have to do?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The five immediately head for Jill’s house to investigate the scene of the crime; Jill heads in first to get into Jill’s room without raising suspicions and opens the window for the twins and Winchesters. Akira and Sam head up first, turning back to the window to catch the duffel bag their brothers will toss up, only for it to appear on the bed not seconds after they’d entered the room. Charlie blinks in surprise and glances between the pair as Akira immediately begins digging through the bag with Sam to get their equipment set up.

“What’d you tell Jill’s mom?” Akira looked at Chrlie as she pulls things out of the bag, watching her lips twist downwards in guilt.

“Told her I needed some time to just look at Jill’s old photos and stuff…” she sighed as Dean and Arashi pulls themselves through the window and close it and the curtains behind them, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she rubs her arm, “I really hate lying to her…”

“Trust us, Charlie, this is for the greater good.” Dean reassured as Arashi took care of the lights. Charlie moved out of the way and sat herself in the corner, at Jill’s desk, frowning as she watched them.

“What exactly are the four of you looking for?”

“We’ll tell you once we’ve found it.” Arashi promises as Akira helps Sam turn on the digital camera and set up the night vision; he immediately turns the lens on Dean, who gives him a half amused look, a grin tugging at his lips.

“Do I look like Paris Hilton?” he asked as Arashi chuckles in amusement and starts checking out Jill’s closet, pointing out the mirror hanging from the door to Sam, who approaches with the camera. He does a sweep of it with the camera, humming to himself in thought.

“This isn’t making much sense….” He flipped the mirror around for alook at the hard wood back, “I mean, her first victim didn’t summon Mary at all, but then this second one did. How could she be choosing them….?”

“Beats the hell outta me…” Dean muttered as he checked out Jill’s photos and Akira looks around the attached bathroom, checking out the mirror in there; Sam closes the closet door and joins her, filming her.

“You know, that’s kinda creepy, Sam.” Akira joked as she looked at her best friend through the mirror, watching the corner of his lips quirk in amusement, “Wouldn’t be if you weren’t standing directly in front of the mirror while I’m filming.” He shot back, watching as she shook her head in amusement before she noticed something trickling out from behind the mirror. She leans closer, her eyes subconsciously glowing gold in the darkness to give her better vision. Sam seems to notice it, too, and leans around Akira to catch it on camera before speaking over his shoulder to the others.

“Hey, Arashi, Dean, don’t we have a couple of black lights in the cars?”

“You mean one of these?” Arashi asks as he holds said lights up for the others to see; Akira gives her brother an exasperated look as Charlie blinks at him in surprise, having not seen him reach into his pocket for anything while Sam turns off the camera and works the mirror of the wall. He carries it out into the bedroom and sets it upside down on the bed before taking one of the black lights. Akira sighs and helps peel the backing off the mirror before Sam shines the black light over it. A handprint appears under it’s glow, alongside the name ‘ _Gary Bryman’_.

“Gary Bryman?” Charlie whispered as she looked over Akira’s shoulder, furrowing her brows as the two look back at her, asking if she’d known him. She shook her head, her frown deepening all the more, as though trying to figure out where his name could have possibly come from.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dean, Jill, and Arashi return to the park to wait as Sam and Akira research Gary Bryman; the duo rejoin them after only about ten minutes, Akira flipping through her notebook as she does so.

“All right, so Gary Bryman was an eight-year-old boy that died in a hit and run about two years ago,” she hummed as she sat down on the arm of the bench, using Arashi as a back rest while Sam leaned his hands on the back of the bench behind dean.

“The police report says the car was described as a black Toyota Camry, although no one managed to get the plate numbers or the face of the driver.”

A gasp escaped Charlie before Sam even finished speaking, her eyes stretched wide as some of the color left her face, “Oh my god….”

“What is it?” Sam frowned in concern, putting a hand on Charlie’s shoulder, which was trembling again, “That was the kind of car Jill drove…”

The team exchanged looks with one another, frowning together, “We need to get back to Donna’s house…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Back at the Shoemaker household, the team uncovers a similar handprint on the back of the bathroom mirror, alongside the name _Linda Shoemaker_. Donna is home at the time when they come to find this, so they head downstairs to talk with her about the name; she immediately seems edging and upset at the mention of the woman, her expression turning stormy and frightened as she looks between each adult’s face with suspicious eyes.

“Why’re the four of you asking me this stuff?” she demanded to know, crossing her arms tightly as her eyes flicker between each of them, legs planted, body rigid in defense. Sam holds his hands up placidly, trying to convince her they weren’t here to hurt her.

“We’re sorry if this is a sensitive subject, but this is really important.” He told her calmly, giving Donna a pleading look; her lips press together as she eyes the man before she sighs deeply.

“Linda was my mom, okay?” she told them, shifting her weight uneasily, “She died of a sleeping pill overdose some time ago, that’s all.” She paused to take a deep breath, then indicated toward the front door, “Now I think the four of you should leave.”

“Look, Donna, we know this is a sensitive subject and we’re sorry,” Akira stepped forward consolingly, holding a gentle hand toward her, giving her an empathetically compelling look for her to trust them, “But, please, you have to listen –“

Donna yanked away from Akira, fixing a hard glare on er with flashing eyes, “No, get out of my house, now!” she snapped at them with a gritted jaw, pushing past Sam and Akira to disappear upstairs; the four adults watched her go and sighed collectively as Charlie chewed her bottom lip, looking between each of them with dark, troubled eyes.

“Do you all really think her dad could’ve killed her mom?” she whispered in a tight, high voice, as though she couldn’t fathom how such a thing could be possile. Sam looked at Akira quietly s she sighed once more.

“It’s a possibility, at the very least….”

Charlie bit down harder on her lip as she glanced toward the stairs once more, her frown deepening, “In any case….I think I should probably stick around.”

Arashi nodded, patting Charlie’s shoulder, “That’s probably a good idea, just be careful not to say –“

Charlie gave him a small smile and nodded her head as well, “Don’t worry, that’s the last thing I would say right now.”

“Good.” Dean and Arashi chorused together as they followed their siblings out of the house.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Do you really think a nationwide search is going to help with this case?” Akira asked Dean not twenty minutes later at a nearby business center, crossing her arms as she watches him type away on a nearby computer, Arashi hovering just behind him and pointing out different links to click on that could be useful. Sam shifts behind her, glancing away from the bulletin board on the wall, “I mean, it seems kinda pointless, don’t you think….?”

“Look, any Mary that’s died in front of a mirror is good enough for us at this point.” Dean told her without looking away from the screen, “Which is why we need to look through the NCIC and FBI databases. There has to be a Mary somewhere, right?”

‘It would make more sense if she died here, though….” Sam chimed in, crossing his own arms and cocking his head curiously, “I mean, she is haunting this town, isn’t she…?”

“That’s the problem, though,” Arashi took a seat in a chair next to Dean, lounging back as he twisted around to face the two, “We’ve already searched through all the local databases around here and come up with nothing. This could be our best shot at finding something. Unless either of you has a better idea?” he eyed the two expectantly, but when they could do little more than exchange looks, he spun around to face the computer again, “Didn’t think so.”

Sam and Akira sigh together and sit down themselves, Akira crossing her legs and leaning her chin against her knuckles as Sam slumps in his seat, crossing his arms as he leans his head back to stare at the ceiling, “It seems a bit strange, though, doesn’t it?” he asked after a short stretch of silence, his fingers tapping against his forearm In time with his thoughts, “In how Mary chooses her victims, I mean….It’s kinda following this weird pattern…”

“My thoughts exactly….” Akira muttered against her own skin, furrowing her brows over her eyes, “Just think of the two victims already….”

“They both had secrets circled around someone dying.” Arashi frowned to himself as the others nodded slowly in thought.

“There’s a lot of folklore connected to mirrors – they’re supposed to be a true reflection of a person’s soul, which is the main reason why it’s such bad luck to break them.” Sam let his head fall back into place as Akira continued with the thought, “They are a true window into the soul, they’ll show all your lies and secrets….”

“Which makes it easier for Mary to be able to see them so she can decide whether or not they’re severe enough to punish you….” Dean pressed his knuckles to his lips, eying the webpage before him.

“Whether you were the one who summoned her or not.” Sam muttered.

“This looks promising,” Arashi leaned forward to tap the webpage Dean was on, “Here, print these pictures out, they could mean something.” He tapped the picture of a woman laying in a puddle of blood In front of a mirror alongsie another of a handprint alongside the letters ‘Tre’. Dena prints both pictures out and hands them both to Sam and Akira, who take them and examine the photos.

“Definitely looks like the same handprint from both mirrors,” Akira traced the hand quietly before glancing at the picture of the woman, “Who was she?”

“Mary Worthington,” Dean scanned the webpage, reading it aloud for the others to hear, “A woman murdered in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Apparently, her murder was never solved.”

“Well, I guess we know where we need to go next.” Sam and Akira say in unison as they get to their feet.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The team takes a road trip to the detective agency in Fort Wayne, Indiana to talk with one of the agents that had worked on Mary Worthington’s case. The man they talk to is an older gentleman that had obviously been on the force for a long time and had been close to the case when it happened; regret is clear in his eyes as he talks them through the details, his expression dark as he runs his hand down his whiskered face.

“I’ve worked at this job for thirty-five years, been a detective for a good part of it….” He sighs as he sits himself on the edge of his desk in front of them, balancing himself with his hands on either side of him, eyes dull, “There’s always been one murder or another that goes unsolved, gets packed in with a few loose ends….but that Mary Worthington case…that one still gets to me…”

“What exactly happened to her?” Dean leaned against Akira’s chair, his arms crossed; the detective eyes him for a moment as though just noticing he was there.

“What did the four of you say you were again?”

“Reporters.” Arashi supplied, leaning forward with an easy smile, “We did our research beforehand, but we wanted a good interview with someone who worked the case.”

Akira nodded as she pulled her notebook out of her pocket, where she had jotted down a couple of important facts about the woman, “We know Mary was only nineteen when she died and that she lived alone.” She scanned down the page with her pen, “She’d been the winner of a couple local beauty contests and often dreamed of getting out of Indiana to pursue a career in acting. Unfortunately, she didn’t get that chance after the night of March 29th, when someone broke into her apartment and murdered her, curving her eyes out with a knife afterward.”

The detective nodded, “Yes, that’s correct.”

“You see, sir,” Sam shifted on the arm of Arashi’s chair to face the detective fully, “The reason why we asked what happened was because we wanted to get your take on things.”

The detective frowns quietly, eyeing Sam briefly before looking to the three other young adults and letting out a slow sigh as he rubbed his neck, “Hm….well, it’s a bit complicated to just explain like this.” He got up off the desk and moved around it to the file cabinet in the corner; he withdrew a single file and returned to his spot, holding the file between him and the team; inside the manila folder is the same pictures they’d found online. He points to the letters written on that bac of the mirror, “See this here? T-R-E?”

The four nod their heads in agreement.

“I think Mary was trying to spell out the name of her killer before she died.”

“Any clues to who it might have been?” Akira cocked her head curiously as the detective shook his head.

“There were clues, but not concrete evidence, so we never figure it out completely. We did suspect the local surgeon, Trevor Sampson,” he pulled another photo out of the file, this one of a man, “Looked like she got cut up pretty good.”

“What could this guy have against Mary?” Arashi asked as he took the photo from the detective to get a better look while he flipped through more papers in the folder, “Well, we looked through her dairy for clues and she mentioned a man she was seeing. She never wrote out his full name, just called him by his initial ‘T’. In her final entry, she mentioned telling ‘T’s wife about their affair.”

“Seems like a legit reason for murder…” Dean muttered darkly, glaring at the picture of the man in his friend’s hand before returning his attention to the detective, “But what makes you think it could have been Sampson?”

The detective shrugged, “It’s hard to explain, but, I guess, it was the way her eyes had been cut out…it seemed kinda professional, you know?”

“But you couldn’t prove it indefinitely, huh?” Arashi handed the photo back, crossing his arms tightly as he leaned back in his chair, watching the older man shake his head, “Unfortunately not; the killer was pretty meticulous, didn’t leave any prints, wasn’t seen by anyone.”

“Sampson still alive?” Dean raised his brows curiously, letting them fall back into place as the detective shook his head once more, “No, he died a couple of years ago.” He sighed as he walked around his desk again and dropped the file on top of it before dropping himself into his chair, rubbing his face tiredly, “Personally, I think Mary was trying to spend her last moments exposing this guy’s secret, even though she ended up failing….”

The four exchange a sad look before returning their attention to the man, “Was Mary buried somewhere nearby?” Sam asked, getting to his feet, “Maybe we could go pay our respects.”

The detective gave them a sad smile, “Unfortunately that’s not possible, Mary was cremated and scattered by her family.”

Arashi looks at Dean quietly before glancing at the file again in thought, “Sir, that mirror.” He leaned forward again, tapping the photo, “Is it stored somewhere, maybe in some evidence locker or something?:

The detective shook his head, “No, that mirror was returned to Mary’s family a long time ago.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have the names of her family, would you?” Akira chimed in hopefully, “Maybe we could ask them something about her, too. For our report.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After making several calls to different members of Mary’s family, Sam and Akira learn the last one to own her mirror ended up being her brother. Akira gives him a call with the pretense of buying the mirror off him, although he apologetically informs her that he’d already sold the mirror to a store in Toledo called Estate Antiques the previous week. She thanks him for his time, anyway, and hangs up the phone, informing Sam of the information.

“It definitely sounds like she’s connected to this mirror, then…” he frowned through the windshield at the back lights of the Impala in front of them, “Which means she goes wherever it does.”

“Kinda makes sense, though, doesn’t it?” Akira glanced at her best friend out of the corner of her eye, “What with that old superstition about mirrors capturing spirits when someone dies. “

“Hm, it was the reason why people would cover up all the mirrors in the house, so the ghost wouldn’t get trapped.”

“Mary got the misfortune of dying in front of a mirror that drew her spirit in….”

“What doesn’t make sense, though, is how she’s able to move through a hundred different mirrors…” Sam furrowed his brows as Akira tilted her head, humming, “Technically, there are some legends that say all mirrors are connected in someway or another, so that could be how she’s able to do it….” She drummed her fingers against the steering wheel in thought as she mulled this over momentarily before shaking them away, knowing that wasn’t the main issue here, “But, anyway, that’s not what we need to focus on right now….we need to find that mirror and smash it.”

Sam nodded his head quietly in agreement, “Probably a good idea…” he muttered distractedly, frowning to himself as he eyes his phone, knowing he should call Arashi so he could update him and Dean on what was going on. Before he got the chance, however, the screen turned blue, showing him an unknown number as the device vibrated in his hand, the ringtone loud in the otherwise quiet car. Akira glanced over, her frown deepening.

“That’s Charlie’s number,” she looked at Sam with a frown as he pressed his lips together worriedly, “This can’t be good…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The team returns to Ohio to pick Charlie up and bring her immediately back to their motel, where they start covering up any and every reflective surface the ghost could use as a portal, including the windows; Akira sits with Charlie on the bed, where she’s curled up in a fetal position, face buried in her knees as her arms are wrapped tight around her legs while the older girl rubs soothing circles into her back. When they’re done, Sam sits delicately on Charlie’s other side, touching her shoulder; she flinches a little at his touch, glancing at him through a curtain of hair.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay, Charlie, you can open your eyes.” He whispered soothingly, squeezing her shoulder encouragingly, smiling gently as she lifted her head cautiously, glancing around the room, “See, it’s all right.”

Charlie gulps thickly and nods quietly without releasing her legs, leaning into Akira for support as she continues to rub her back gently.

“Everything will be okay, Charlie, you’ll see.” She told her softly, giving her a gentle smile of her own, “You just have to stay right here for now, all the glass and reflective surfaces are covered. So long as you don’t look at anything reflective, you’ll be safe.”

“I can’t stay away from stuff like that forever, though….” Charlie gulped, shaking, “One way or another, she’s going to get me….”

“No, she won’t, not while we’re here.” Arashi sat in front of her and Akira, turned on the bed to face her, “We’re going to take care of this, Charlie, and you’ll be safe, we promise.”

Dean takes a seat himself, nodding, “First, we need to know what happened, Charlie.”

Charlie glanced down sheepishly, like a kid who had been asked to tattle on their friend, “Donna said it….while we were in the girls’ room at school….”

“No, that’s not it,” Dean shook his head, tilting his head down to try and meet Charlie’s gaze again, “I mean, something’s happened in your past, hasn’t it? You have a secret where someone’s been hurt, don’t you?”

Guilt and pain warred with fear for dominance over Charlie’s features and she squeezed her legs tighter to her chest, tears gathering in her eyes once more, “I had this boyfriend that committed suicide….I really cared about him and loved him, but there was just….there was something about him that scared me, too, you know? This one night, we were spending time at his house and we ended up getting in a fight….he got upset when I broke up with him, told me he needed me, that he loved me….” The tears were fathering faster, glistening brightly in her wide eyes, “Then he….he told me ‘Charlie, you walk out that door, I’ll kill myself.’ “ A sob escaped her throat and she squeezed her eyes tightly, the tears slipping down her cheeks, “And I….I told him to just go right ahead and do it before I left….How could I….how could I say that? How could I have just left him like that….” Her whole body shook with the force of her sobs, “I….I didn’t think he would actually…I should have….I should have believed him….” She buried her face back into her knees, muffling her next sob as Sam and Akira look quietly at one another with twin frowns on their faces, their hearts going out to the teen for her situation.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It’s raining by the time the team heads out for the antique story to find Mary’s mirror; although reluctant to leave Charlie by herself, they know they’re going to need every single one of them to be able to defeat this ghost if they want to break her curse. Tonight, the Impala is their only means of transport.

“Her boyfriend killing himself, that wasn’t Charlie’s fault…” Dean mutters into the quit car, glancing between his passengers; clips can be heard being loaded into guns in the back as the twins get their weapons ready to clear the ghost.

“Spirits don’t exactly see shades of gray like we do, though, Dean.” Akira muttered as she checks her gun to be sure she’d loaded the chamber correctly, “So long as her victim has a secret that connects to someone dying, that’s going to be good enough for Mary.”

Dean sighed heavily as he returned his attention to the darkened road stretching into the distance in front of them, clenching the steering wheel tightly.

“You know, I’ve been thinking….” Sam glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye, “It might not be enough for us just to smash her mirror.”

“What do you mean?” Dean turns his head to look at his younger brother, his forehead wrinkling as he frowned his brows.

“Sam probably means that Mary will be hard to pin down since she can travel through different mirror.” Akira glances up over the back of the seat, “She has the advantage of using different mirrors to move from one place to another without getting trapped, which means she could just use them to hide in when we smash hers’. More than likely, we might need to try and pin her down by summoning her to her own mirror before we smash it.”

“Do either of you know if that plan’s going to work?” Dean quirked a brow, glancing at Akira in the rear view mirror as she shrugs her shoulder, “Gotta be worth a shot, doesn’t it?”

“Who’s going to be the one to summon her, then?” Arashi glanced over from his window, raising a brow in question.

“I will.” Sam and Akira said in unison, looking at each other in surprise, frowning together, “No, I will. Sam/Akira.”

Dean sighed in frustration and pulled the Impala over to the side of the road, pinning the two with a glare, “Okay, that’s it, you two have to stop this.” He snapped, drawing their attention before they can start arguing, “This is obviously about Jessica, I know it, Arashi knows it, neither of you has made it a secret you both feel responsible for her death.” He watched as Sam turned his gaze slowly to his best friend, surprise flicking in his gaze as she avoids it, dropping her eyes to the weapon in her hands, fists tightening around it, “Both of you have just got to stop, all right? Those nightmares you’ve both been having about her, thinking about it all day, every day….if you don’t let it go, it’s going to kill both of you.”

“He is right, guys.” Arashi gave the two of them a worried frown, turning fully to face them as he put a hand on his sister’s shoulder, eyebrows furrowing together over the bridge of his nose, “You’ve gotta let this go, it wasn’t either of your faults, you understand? Neither of you did anything, it was that thing that killed her, whatever the hell it was. And, if you’re not satisfied with that, blame one of us.” He indicated himself and Dean, squeezing Akira’s shoulder tightly, almost to the point of being painful, “I mean, we were the ones that pulls you away from your lives in the first place.”

Sam and Akira looked slowly at their brothers, shaking their heads, “We don’t blame you…”

“Fine, but don’t blame yourselves, either.” Dean told them sternly, frowning at Sam across the seat, “because, you know, there couldn’t’ve have been anything either of you could have done.”

“We could’ve at least warned her or something.” Akira argued in a weak voice, unable to meet any of the men’s eye as she glanced at her reflection in the window; Arashi squeezed her shoulder tighter in an attempt to get her to look at him again, “What could you have warned her about, Aki, huh? Neither of you knew what was going to happen! Besides, neither of you can use this as a secret, because both Dean and I already know all about it. It won’t work.”

“Neither of you know everything.” Sam muttered, turning away from the others as Dean narrowed his eyes at him, “We haven’t told you, or each other, everything.”

“What in the world are you talking about?” Dean leaned closer to his brother, eyeing him as Sam shrugged, “Can’t say, otherwise it wouldn’t really be a secret, would it?”

Dean shook his head back and forth as he sat back, “No, don’t like it, I don’t lie this, Sam, at all. Neither you, nor Akira is doing this, I won’t allow it.”

“We have to do something, Dean.” Akira looked around at him, leaning over the back of the seat, “If we don’t, Charlie is going to die and who knows how many other people after her, too. You’ve got to trust us, okay?” she looked pleadingly at her brother, arching her eyebrows compellingly, “Please, at least let us try.”

Dean frowns back at her, then turns in his seat to look at Arashi, who returns his frown before releasing a deeply unsettled frown from the depths of his chest, his face scrunching.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When they arrive at the shop, Akira lets them inside by mentally unlocking the front door. As the door swings open, they see dozens of reflections staring back at them, causing an uneasy shudder to roll through them like a wave through the crowd at a sporting event.

“Greeeeat….” Arashi muttered uneasily, suppressing a shudder as Dean pulls out a couple of copies of Mary’s dead body to help them locate the mirror.

“Let’s just get this over with.” He handed one of the photos to Sam before grabbing Akira and pulling her after him in one direction to search the store as Arashi follows Sam.

“Are you and Sam really sure about this?” Dean muttered to Akira once they’re out of earshot of their brothers, glancing anxiously back at her over his shoulder as they scan the rows of mirrors, fragments of light dancing across the walls as the light from their flashlight bounces off the reflective surfaces. Akira sighed.

“We’re quite sure, Dean.” She told him, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye with a frown, “If we weren’t, we wouldn’t be doing this, would we?” she moved past him to continue down a separate aisle, scanning the rows of mirrors with growing frustration.

“It just seems rash, that’s all.” Dean muttered behind her, frowning at the rows of mirrors stretching in the opposite direction, “Ashi and I worry about the two of you, you know, especially with all of this….”

“It’s our own issue to deal with, Dean.” Akira came around a tall shelf, giving Dean a small, grateful look, “I don’t know if we’ll deal with it together or apart, but it’s ours’. We need to coe to terms with it on our own.”

“This is coming to terms with it?” Dean ushered to the dozens of mirrors surrounding them, his eyes alight as he gives her an exasperatedly worried look, “Akira, this isn’t healthy, you have to know that. This least of all, even more so than you or Sam just beating yourselves up for what happened to Jessica.”

“What part of this lifestyle is healthy anyway, Dean?” Akira cocked her head the slightest bit, shaking it, “What part of being a hunter is healthy? We’re constantly fighting monsters and living on the road, living off fast food. There’s gotta be some guilt there somewhere, doesn’t there?”

“Not like this.”

“Dean…” she touched Dean’s arm quietly, giving him a soft look, her eyebrows arching to cause grooves in her forehead as her eyes stared into his; he leaned into her touch almost subconsciously, looking back into those watery blues with his own chocolate ones, covering her hand with his, his eyes hard, heart tight in his chest at the thought of anything happening to her or Sam. He was the oldest out of the four of them and the twins had been just as much his brother and sister as Sam, so it’d always been his responsibility to look out for them no matter what. Each of them were strong and capable of taking care of themselves, just like him, but that didn’t make it any easier for Dean to see them put themselves in harms’ way like this, especially not with how things were for either Sam or Akira. He’d taken the from their lives and made his little brother lose the woman he loved and yet neither of them ever blamed him, just themselves. It made him want to protect them all the more.

His hand was tight around hers’, as though he was afraid she would disappear on him at any second, his eyes boring into hers’, softer, pleading, trying to convince her not to do this, not to hurt herself like this, “Akira, please, don’t 0”

“Hey guys,” Arashi’s voice cut through the quiet, drawing the woman’s attention away at that moment to where he and Sam were standing in a far corner of the store; he motioned for them to join them and she nodded, glancing apologetically back at Dean as she gently tugged her hand out from under his and crossed the room without a word, leaving him to stare anxiously after her. He sighed slowly and clenched his empty fist tight as he returned it to his side and followed her, gritting his jaw tightly as he reaches where she and the others are gathered around Mary’s mirror. He eyes it mistrustfully, then glances at Sam and Akira as they exchange their flashlights for a couple of crowbars, putting a hand on Sam’s shoulder as Arashi does the same to Akira.

“You both sure you want to do this….?” They ask together, searching their siblings eyes for any sign of doubt; both stare back in determination, nodding, before they turn to regard the mirror. Each take a deep breath and chant the name in unison, clenching their weapons tightly in their fists as their brothers take careful steps back to give them room.

A light out of the corner of his eye draws Arashi’s attention away and he glances toward the front of the store; florescent light sweeps through the front windows, glinting off the many mirrors to bounce even brighter off the surrounding walls than their flashlights. Lips pulling together, he leaned over to nudge his best friend, nodding toward the light; Dean glances over his shoulder, getting a bad feeling as Arashi slips off down the aisle, crouching behind a row of mirrors to peer around without being seen.

“Looks like we might have company…” Dean muttered, turning back to Sam and Akira, “Both of you stay here while we check it out. And be careful.” He set his own crowbar side and turns to follow Arashi, “Smash anything and everything that moves, okay?” he glanced at them to make sure they’d heard before joining Arashi at his hiding spot at the end of the aisle.

“Cops.” Was the only thing Arashi told him, glancing briefly at him as he cursed under his breath, “We’re going to need to go distract them….”

“Right….” Dean muttered, indicating for the other to follow him before he moved around him to walk toward the front door; Arashi sets his crowbar down and follows him without argument, glancing in their siblings direction once as they go.

Harsh breathing fills the store, faint, but evident in the quiet, drawing Sam and Akira’s attention; they turn away from Mary’s mirror and scan the surrounding ones, a dark figure catching their eyes in one nearby. When they whirl in that direction, the ghost is staring out at them with dark, empty eyes.

Outside, Dean and Arashi carefully step out into the drizzle, holding their hands up placidly as the cops step out of their cruiser parked by the curb, reaching for the guns secured at their waists.

“Hold it right there.” One of them shots, withdrawing his pistol. Arashi smiles lazily, waving hand.

“He, settle down, guys, it’s all right, it’s a false alarm.” He spoke calmly, smoothly, as though this was all nothing more than a big mistake, “it was just us, we tripped the alarm.”

“Whoa re you two?” The other officer asked, his own gun raised as he eyes the two young men suspiciously.

“We’re the boss’s kids.” Dean told him as though that was the most obvious things in the entire world. The officers lowered their guns halfway, as though not entirely convinced.

“You’re Mister Yamashiro’s kids?” One of them raised an eye in disbelief, narrowing his eyes tightly at the two.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The duo inside isn’t faring much better than their brothers; the ghost has now moved to another mirror from the first, which one of them has already smashed. Akira moves back toward Sam as her grip tightens on her crowbar, eyes scanning the rows around them as Sam down the same, his back pressed into hers’. He spots the shadow out of the corner of his eye and lashes out with all his might, the clash of metal against glass echoing through the store as fragments of glimmering silver fall to the floor like rain. Akira’s head snaps around as Mary appears in a mirror by her and arches her crowbar to smash it through her reflection. Sam and Akira back into each other again, turning so Sam faces Mary’s mirror head on as Akira’s eyes dart up and down the rows.

“C’mon, come into this one.” Sam mutters out, eyeing his reflection as it suddenly relaxes it’s defensive stance and stands straight, staring blankly at him as red outlines the bottom of his eye and a drop of blood trickles down his cheek. His breath is suddenly thick in his lungs, heavy, like someone had filled them with water and he gasps aloud as he tries to pull in a sufficient supply, eyes widening as blood trickles down his own cheek. His crowbar clatters to the floor as he grasps desperately at his chest. Akira looks back at him, her eyes widening when she spots his reflection in the mirror as it talks to him, telling him it was his fault for what happened to Jessica.

“Sam!” she whirled around him on the tips of her toes like a ballerina at a recital, raising her crowbar to drive it as hard as she can through the reflection’s face, only to freeze as dark eyes snapped to her, two lifeless, bottomless pits of eternal darkness that ensnared her like a rabbit in a trap. She can feel something cold seeping throughout her body, like ice water was in her veins, spreading faster throughout her body with each pump of her heart; her lungs seize, breath freezing and thickening, like tar, throat squeezing tightly as she gasps, mouth gaping like a fish’s. Red clouds her vision as blood seeps to the forefront of her eye and fills her lower lids, spilling out past her lashes to roll down her cheeks and neck. Her weapon slips from her fingers with her weaning strength and she grasps desperately at the front of her shirt, pressing on her heart, which twists and thrashes in her chest, fighting against the invisible fingers tearing through it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Look, we’ve already told you, we’re adopted.” Arashi tried to convince the two officers quickly approaching him and Dean, encircling them from either side. Neither seems convinced by this story, however, their eyebrows raised and lips set, unimpressed, as they reach for their handcuffs. Arashi glances at Dean as he shifts anxiously, looking exasperated as he glances between both men.

“All right, you know what, we don’t have time for this,” he growled as punched the officer closest to him, hard, in the face. Arashi doesn’t hesitate to follow his lead as he backhanded the other officer and then grabbed him by the back of his shirt, hauling him around to land a punch on his face as well. Dean grabs the first officer and punches him hard enough to knock him out, letting him drop to the ground at his feet. Arashi dusts his hands off as he glances at the unconscious men before turning to ace the store again, a sinking feeling in his chest as an icy feeling gripped his stomach like a vice.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You never tried to save her or warn her at all, never told her the truth,” Akira gasped loudly as her legs gave out from beneath her, her body dropping heavily to the floor as she gripped tighter at her chest, clenching her eyes, “You wanted her out of the way, didn’t you? So you could have Sam.” Hunched shoulders shook and Akira swore, if she could breath, a sob would be clawing at the back of her throat by now as she shook her head desperately back and forth, “You wanted her gone. You knew something was going to happen, you could sense it. You sensed it for a week, you knew something was wrong, but you did nothing!” The reflection’s voice became shriller with each word, the pitch climbing the scale like a ladder, pounding in Akira’s head as her brain fought to send enough signals to the rest of her body for the oxygen it so desperately needed. “You could sense it, couldn’t you?! But you ignored them because you were so desperate to be normal. How could you ignore something like that?! How could you let her die like that?! How could you hurt Sam like that? You knew it would happen, you knew! And you still ignored it!”

A crack rent the air as the mirror suddenly shattered, glass flying from the frame to cascade to the floor like a waterfall of silver, each jagged piece glistening faintly in the dim light; Sam and Akira gasp together in unison as their lungs relax, allowing both the chance to draw in that desperate pull of air they need, Sam flopping backward as Akira slumps forward on her arms, coughing. Footsteps grow louder as Dean and Arashi approach, kneeling by their siblings side and grabbing desperately at their shoulders.

“Hey, can the two of you hear us? Sammy, Aki?”

“it’s….Sam.” Sam gasps out, rolling his head back to look at Dean, who sighs faintly in relief as Arashi sits Akira back, both of them frowning at the blood marring their siblings’ faces, “Dear god, are the two of you okay?’

“Y-yeah, we’re….we’re okay….” Sam mutters as Akira can only manage a weak nod, leaning weakly into Arashi’s chest as he pulls her in close, pressing his face into the top of her head as he passes a gentle hand through her hair. Dean hugs Sam tightly in relief, sighing deeply, “C’mon, let’s get the two of you out of here.”

Sam nodded weakly as Dean helps him to his feet, pulling his arm around his shoulders while Arashi stands with Akira cradled in his arms. The two lean into their brothers weakly as they start out of the store, although the sound of glass crinkling and shifting behind them makes them freeze in place, their backs and shoulder tensing as they sense a dark presence behind them. The four turn slowly in place to look behind them, their hearts sinking in their chests as the dark figure pulling itself out of the frame of the mirror and crawling over the glass covered floor, chalk white skin gliding over the shadows like they’re not even there as a curtain of midnight hair covers the ghosts face eerily. When her body is free from the frame, Mary pulls herself slowly upright into a standing position, lifting her face slowly to let the hair fall away from her face until they could see the pits of black that were her eyes as she takes slow, deliberate steps forward. Blood starts to seep past Dean and Arashi’s bottom lid as more trails track Sam and Akira’s cheeks, their legs weakening until they’re forced to the floor again, staring up at the approaching apparition in horror. In one last desperate attempt to save their lives, however, Dean reaches out blindly for a nearby mirror, pulling it up in front of him so she was forced to look at her own reflection. She stops and stares, as though frozen as her reflection screams out at her about all the people she’d killed.

Choked gasps escape her lips as she’d forced to endure the same fate as those she’s killed, her breath seizing in her throat as blood seeps from her eyes and mouth. The four watch in amazement as the spirit begins to melt like a wax figurine until she’s nothing but a pile of blood and chalky skin. Dean doesn’t hesitate to smash the mirror in his hands to pieces and leans back on his elbows as he tries to catch his breath, his harsh pants intermixing with the others in the quiet shop.

“Hey guys…?” he finally said after a long stretch of silence, glancing at the rest of his team with a small, amused quirk to his lips. They each looked at him with quirked brows, sitting up slowly as they regained their breath. “How much bad luck is this now? Like 600 years or something?”

The trio exchanged looks and chuckled faintly in amusement, shaking their heads as Dean smiles faintly himself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The team drives Charlie back home the following morning after informing her of their success in stopping the murderous spirit. Charlie seems torn between grateful and yet still apprehensive, even as they pull up to her house to drop her off.

“Is this all really over?” she paused on the front porch steps to look back at the four with a small smile, her head cocked quizzically; they each give her reassuring smiles and nod together.

“Yes, it’s really over, trust us.” Dean promised, folding his hands in the sleeves of his jacket; the tension seems to leave Charlie’s shoulders a little as the reality of it finally sinks in and her smile widens a little as she holds out a hand to shake each of their’s. They each grasp her hand tightly to tell her things would be okay for her from now on before they let go, although Sam reaches out to stop her as she turns to head inside.

“Hey Charlie,” she pauses and looks back at him, her head cocked curiously as she meets his serious gaze, “What happened with your boyfriend….try to learn to forgive yourself, all right? It wasn’t your job to stop it, even if you could. Sometimes these things just happen.”

Charlie’s expression sobers, but she smiles faintly in thanks and nods before she headed inside; the four wait until she closes the front door before they head back for the cars, Dean nudging Sam with a small smile on his lips.

“Pretty good advice you gave her.” He muttered, walking around the Impala as Arashi climbed into the passenger seat and Sam opened the door to Akira’s van to climb in. Dean pauses before he can get into his car, glancing in his brother’s direction in thought for a moment before he cleared his throat, “Hey Sam?”

Sam leans around the door with one foot inside the van, blinking, “Yeah…?”

Dean lifted his chin slightly, ‘You think that now that this is all over….you and Akira would be willing to tell us that secret you’ve both been keeping?”

Sam glances at Akira across the seats as she pauses in closing her door; she glances back at him, then looks down quietly as Sam sighs, shaking his head, “Not this time, Dean….” He muttered, giving him an apologetic look as Dean frowns at him, his eyebrows pulling together, “We do care about you, Dean, hell, Aki and I would take a bullet for either one of you, but there are some things we just need to keep to ourselves….we hope you can understand….” He climbed into the van and closed the passenger door as Akira reeved the engine. Dean looks ready to argue, but Arashi leans across the Impala’s seat, glancing up at him through the window with an expression that told him he should just let it go for now. He sighs heavily and gives a small nod in agreement as he climbs into the Impala. The engine purrs to life and the cars pull away from the curb together toward the town.

Sam stares out the window of the van as they drive through the town to get back on the highway, leaning his chin in his hand as Akira glances silently at him, letting out a soundless sigh. Something out of the corner of their eyes catches their attention as they pass one street corner, though, and the friends turn their heads in time to spot a blond woman in a white dress standing beside a light pole, both their hearts jumping into their chests as they realize it’s Jessica. She doesn’t move anything except for her head as she watches them drive away down the street, the wind playing with her hair as it swirls around her face until she disappears from sight behind the pole.


	7. Skin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo my fellow packmates,  
> I know it's been a long time since I've updated this story, but I've been so focused on my TWD fanfic, I kinda got distracted and got a bit of writer's block. However, I am back and I do intend to continue writing this and other fanfics alongside it, although it might be a little slow since I have so many stories I like writing that are quite extensive like this one. I don't know if anyone really likes this sotry, but I would like to try and finish it whether anyone reads it or not, but if there is anyone out there that enjoys it, I hope you'll continue reading along and I thank you for your loyalty :)  
> Anyway, please enjoy this next chapter and I'll see you soon.  
> Signed, your alpha, ScarletMarieLeaf

“All right, I’ve got our next course pretty much mapped out from here.” Dean announced proudly as he steps out of the Impala just outside a roadside gas station, turning to regard Akira as she’s pulled the van up on the other side of the gas pump; Arashi exits the Impala and makes a beeline to the station door to pay for their gas inside, “I figure we’ll hit Tucumcari by lunch, then turn to head south, get into Bisbee about midnight.”

 

Akira nods absentmindedly as she starts to pump her own gas, turning to talk to Sam through the open driver’s side door as he’s deeply invested with something on his PalmPilot. Frowning to himself as he set his own pump up, Dean walks around the back of the van, peering curiously in at what had his brother so distracted.

 

“Hey, Aki?” he called across to Akira, who glanced up, “Is it true you share your underwear with Sam?”

 

“We’re paying attention, Dean,” Sam muttered as Akira rolled her eyes, leaning her hip into the side of the van, “We’re just busy, that’s all.”

 

“Doin’ what?” Dean quirked a brow, curious, as he leaned in through the window to get a better look. Sam shifts through the newest emails he’s received during the night.

 

“Reading emails.” He answers absently as he scans through one of them; Dean furrows his brows a bit, looking at Akira, as though confused why Sam would be so concerned with his email. She shrugged.

 

“We do still have contacts outside hunting, Dean.” She pointed out, pushing off from the van as Arashi came back out of the gas station with a bag of junk food, which he carried over to the Impala, glancing at his sister with a quirked brow.

 

“Still talking to your buddies back in college?”

 

“And if we are?” she quirked an identical brow back at him, removing the pump and screwing the cap back onto the van’s tank. Dean snorted, as though in disbelief.

 

“Wow, that’s a surprise.” He came back around the van to remove the pump from his own car, earning a quizzical look from Akira, her brows furrowing, “Didn’t think you two would try to keep in touch with ‘em after everything, you know? What do either of you tell ‘em, anyway? They’ve got to be curious about where you have been and what you’ve been doing since you’ve left.”

 

“We just tell them we’re on a family trip.” Akira catches the water bottles Arashi tosses her way and opens the driver’s side door of the van to put them away before taking the fruit and granola from him as well, “Said we needed to spend some time with our brothers’, that Sam needed some time away after Jess.”

 

A smirk tugged at the corners of Dean’s lips, amusement dancing in his eyes, “Ah, so you lie to ‘em.”

 

“Not wholly,” Akira defended as she took a pull from her water bottle, “We just…don’t tell them everything…”

 

“Still seems like lying.” Arashi refuted, chuckling to himself as he sipped from his bottle of soda, earning a glare from Akira as she rolled her eyes.

 

“It’s little white lies.” She pointed out logically, “‘sides, not like we can just tell them the whole truth, can we? I can just see it now, telling everyone there’s supernatural creatures out there and I’ve got supernatural blood, it’s a one-way ticket to the loony bin, isn’t it?”

 

Dean tried to swallow back the amused chuckles bubbling up his throat as Arashi shook his head, smiling faintly, “Settle down, Aki, we get it. It’s your choice what you both want to tell them, you know.”

 

Akira seemed to relax a little as she nodded gratefully at her brother, blowing a couple of strands of hair out of her face, “Thanks…it’s tough, but we didn’t want to have to leave everything of our old lives behind, you know? We couldn’t just cut everyone else out.”

 

Arashi hums his agreement as Dean shrugs, noncommittally, and accepts the soda his best friend offers, taking a slow drag from the cup as Sam curses under his breath, catching the others’ attention. Akira leans around the open driver’s side door, frowning.

 

“Sam?”

 

“It’s Rebecca.” His eyes zipped over his email and Akira leans over her seat to read it over his shoulder, pinching her eyebrows together; Dean and Arashi look at one another, cattish grins spreading across their faces as they mouth the name together and do a quick game of rock, paper, scissors.

 

“Oh man….” Akira whispers, leaning back out of the car with wide-eyes, passing an anxious hand through her hair.

 

“Well don’t leave us in suspense.” Dean beamed as he beat Arashi with rock over scissors, sipping proudly from his drink, “What’s up?”

 

Akira looks at Dean and Arashi as they watch her enthusiastically before turning her attention back to Sam, who leans his head back into the headrest with his lips pressed together for a second before he sighed slowly.

 

“Rebecca and her brother, Zack, were classmates of ours’ at school…” he muttered in a heavy voice, his heart sunk painfully in his chest, “She just sent me this email saying Zack’s been charged with murder. The police have arrested him for killing his girlfriend.” Akira shakes her head and plays with a strand of hair falling over her shoulder as she paces the length of the van, which was typical for her when she was anxious or upset, “Rebecca says he didn’t do it, but it looks like the cops have a pretty good case against him.”

 

Dean and Arashi watch Akira pace alongside the van for a moment, before Dean returned his attention to his younger brother, quirking a brow curiously as Arashi stands to calm his twin down, “Geeze, what kinda people were you two hangin’ out with at that college?” he half joked, trying to ease the tension. Sam shook his head, frowning, as he turned to regard Dean seriously.

 

“No, man, we know Zack, Dean. He’s no killer.”

 

Dean lifted his shoulders in a half shrug as Arashi calms Akira down, “Maybe the two of you know Zack about as well as he knows you two.”

 

Sam ignores this, brushing it aside, “Look, they’re in St. Louis, I say we go help.”

 

Dean lets out an amused chuckle at the idea, shaking his head, “Hey, Sammy, look, we’re sorry about your buddy, okay? But this doesn’t exactly sound like our kinda problem, you know?”

 

“What if it is, though, Dean?” Akira frowned at him, pushing Arashi away as she shook her head, “Look, he’s our friend, we want to help.”

 

“Guys,” Dean stood straight, defiant, as he looked sternly between Sam and Akira, “St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us, no way we’re wasting the gas.”

 

“If you don’t, then fine.” Akira retorted, crossing her arms, “But we will if it means helping those we care about.” She walked around Arashi to climb into the drivers’ seat of the van as Arashi gave Dean an imploring look, “Either you two can come with us or Sam and I can handle it on our own, it’s your choice.”

 

Dean sighs under Arashi’s withering gaze, “Okay, okay!” he throws his free hand into the air in surrender, going around the Impala, “We’ll go back to St. Louis. But you two,” he pointed toward Akira and Sam through her open window as she was fighting a grin, “You owe us.”

 

Giggling to herself, Akira nodded her head in understanding as Arashi fist bumps her and hurries to climb back into the Impala himself while she exchanges a quiet smile with Sam. The van and impala purr to life and Akira leads the way out of the gas station back in the direction of St. Louis.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

It doesn’t take long for the team to reach their destination, where Sam and Akira make the decision to head straight for Rebecca and Zack’s parents house, knowing that was where Rebecca would likely be since her brother had been arrested. Rebecca had a place closer to the school like Sam, Jessica, and Akira had all had, but more than likely this had been a visit for her when things had gone wrong. And when they arrived at her doorstep, she was more than a little surprised.

 

“Oh my god!” she squealed loudly as she swung the front door open, beaming when she saw them, “Sam, Akira!”

 

“Well, if it isn’t little Becky.” Sam chuckled in amusement as Rebecca swooped in for a hug from Akira, glaring playfully at Sam over her shoulder.

 

“Oh, you know what you can do with that little Becky crap.” She giggled, pulling away from Akira to give him a hug in turn as Akira rubbed her arm.

 

“We got your email.” She told her quietly, her expression softening a little as worry flashed across Rebecca’s face. She sighed as she stepped back from Sam, smiling faintly still, “I didn’t think the two of you would actually come back, though.”

 

Dean cleared his throat as Arashi smiled at Rebecca from around Sam, waving; Rebecca quirked a brow as she turned her attention curiously to the two men while Akira shook her head.

 

“Rebecca, these are our brothers.” She introduced, indicating each of them as she said their name, “Dean and Arashi.”

 

“I’m Sam’s older brother.” Dean stepped forward to shake Rebecca’s hand as her lips quirk a bit in amusement, watching him smile flirtingly.

 

“And I’m Akira’s twin.” Arashi took her hand next as she giggled to herself.

 

“It’s nice to meet you both.” She told them earnestly, earning a couple of nods and a ‘you, too’ in return. Sam cleared his throat to regain Rebecca’s attention.

 

“We came to see if we couldn’t help.” He gave his friend an encouraging smile as Akira nodded her head in agreement, “yeah, we’re here for whatever you need, Becky.”

 

Rebecca smiled gratefully at the two, squeezing Akira’s shoulder gently, “Why don’t you all come in, we can talk inside.” She gestured for them to follow and leads the way inside as Dean closes the front door behind them. Through the front hall, they step into a dining room in the back and head for the kitchen. Dean and Arashi were checking out the interior of the house, Arashi whistling lowly to himself, impressed.

 

“This is a nice place you’ve got here.” He told Rebecca with a grin playing at his lips; she glanced at him over her shoulder, smiling faintly in thanks.

 

“It’s my parents'.” She told him with a shrug, “I was just here for the long weekend, before everything happened…” she sighed heavily, digging her teeth into her bottom lip, “With what’s going on with Zack, I decided to take the semester off, at least try to support him until he’s let out.”

 

“Your parents aren’t around?” Akira cocked her head, curious, as Rebecca smiled faintly, shaking her head, “Not at the moment, they live in Pair for like half the year, but with the trial coming up, they’ll be flying back soon.” She leads them into the kitchen, jabbing a thumb toward the fridge as she turned to face the other adults, “Any of you want a beer or something?”

 

Dean and Arashi smile, opening their mouths to accept, but Sam quickly cuts them off before they can, shaking his head.

 

“No, thank you. Could you tell us what happened with, Zack?” he cocked his head a bit; Rebecca smiled faintly once more, offering the four chairs at a table in the corner while she shifts her weight uneasily from one foot to the other.

 

“Well…the way it went was, Zack got home to found Emily tied to a chair in the kitchen,” she blinked as her eyes misted over and took a minute to recollect herself as she lowered herself into a chair; Akira put a gentle hand on her arm, frowning deeply, “She was so beaten and bloody, she wasn’t even breathing…” she pressed a hand to her lips, clenching her eyes, “So, he called 911 and the police, they…they showed up, ended up arresting him straight away. But…but there was no way Zack could’ve killed Emily, not unless he was in two places at once. Zack was with me, having a few beers until at least midnight, but the police, they…they had this security tape from a camera across the street, showing him coming home around 10:30…Emily was killed just after that…”

 

Dean and Arashi looked at one another with quirked brows as Sam held Rebecca’s other hand, squeezing it and her arm gently.

 

“Hm, this is serious,” Arashi pressed his lips together, rubbing his chin, “Maybe we should go check out the crime scene at Zack’s place?”

 

Dean nodded his head in agreement, earning Rebecca’s attention as she pinched her eyebrows together as though confused, “Why would you? I mean, what could any of you do?” she looked at Sam and Akira quizzically as they each offered her a gentle smile.

 

“We couldn’t do much, really,” Akira pointed out as Sam nodded his head.

 

“But Dean and Arashi can,” he pointed to their brothers, smiling, “They are cops, after all.”

 

Dean and Arashi chuckled, the later leaning forward on his forearms with a smile playing at his lips, “They’re being modest, we’re detectives, actually.”

 

Rebecca’s eyes widened a little in surprise as she regarded the two men again, “Really?” When the two nod, she cocks her head a bit, caught between curious, yet still a bit in disbelief at the luck, “Where?”

 

“We work in Bisbee, Arizona.” Dean answered fluidly, leaning casually back into his chair and smiling lazily, “But, you know, took some time off to spend with Sam and Aki, we hadn’t seen them in so long.”

 

Rebecca’s expression softened in understanding, even as there was a somewhat skeptical, but appreciative edge to her gaze, “Guys, it’s nice of you to offer, really…” she squeezed Sam’s hand gratefully, giving him, Akira, and their brothers a faint smile, “But, I just…I dunno…”

 

“Look, Becky,” Akira squeezed Rebecca’s arm, drawing her attention until she met her soft gaze, “I know this is hard and a lot to take in, but we also know Zack couldn’t have done something like this. And we’re here to help prove his innocence, if you’ll just trust us.” She raised her eyebrows imploringly.

 

Rebecca regarded her friend seriously for a moment, pressing her lips together before turning her attention to Sam, who smiled gently at her, as though to both reassure her and gain her trust. They both knew this was a big thing, her brother being accused of murder and on trial, there were risks and repercussions that could come with going onto a crime scene if they didn’t know the right people, but…she wanted to help her brother and if there was a chance they could help him….they would just have to roll with it. She finally sighs, conceding.

 

“Okay,” she smiles, squeezing Sam and Akira’s hands gently before pushing up out of her chair, “I’ll grab my keys and we can bounce.” She excused herself to retrieve her keys while Sam and Akira nod after her, getting to their feet. Dean chuckles to himself once she’s out of earshot, shaking his head as he climbs to his feet as well.

 

“Little white lies, huh?” he quirked a brow at Akira, who avoids his gaze uneasily, rubbing her neck as Sam frowns at his brother.

 

“Zack and Becky need our help and we are going to help them.” He argued quietly, watching as Dean rolls his eyes and crosses his arms, shaking his head slowly.

 

“Dunno, man, this just doesn’t feel like our kinda thing.”

 

“Being in two places at once?” Arashi quirked a brow as he stood next to Dean, cocking his own head, “Sounds pretty supernatural to me. No one could do something like this unless they’re identical twins or someone can make themselves looks like someone else.”

 

“Exactly.” Akira nodded her agreement, smiling gratefully at her brother before turning her attention to Dean again, “Besides, Dean, we’ve looked into less. You don’t have to look any further than our last case in Toledo concerning Bloody Mary.” The men each gave a collective shudder and Akira felt her own hair raise at the thought of the experience, “We should at least check it out, you know? Just to be sure.”

 

Dean doesn’t look to know what to say to this and finally heaves a sigh in defeat, running a hand down his face as Arashi claps a gentle hand on his back.

 

“Can’t hurt.” He smiled as Rebecca called that she was ready to go; Dean nods to the others and follows them out of the kitchen and down the hall through which Rebecca had left. After a short debate, they all climb into Rebecca’s car and she drives them in the direction of Zack’s apartment, which is about a half hour ride from the house. It still looks fairly normal, undisturbed, although the door is clearly marked with yellow police tape to warn pedestrians to keep out.

 

“You sure this is okay?” Rebecca asked Dean and Arashi quietly, looking unsure as she followed them, Sam, and Akira toward the front door; the two look back at her, smiling reassuringly as Dean nodded.

 

“Yeah, it’s perfectly fine, we’re officers of the law, you know.” He turned his attention ahead again as Akira let them into the house, which is, unsurprisingly, unlocked. Inside, the house looks like the scene of a horror movie/detective show all rolled into one, with the furniture turned over and smashed on the floors, blood splashed on the carpet and walls. Through a door into the kitchen, they could see a bloodied chair marked off by a square of police tape and the outline of a body on the floor in front of it. Rebecca hesitates on the porch step, as though unsure whether it’s really okay for her to enter, peering cautiously in through the tape. Sam stops, looking back as Arashi slips into the kitchen.

 

“You wanna wait outside?” Sam offered his friend an understanding smile, earning her attention; she shakes her head quickly as though steeling herself.

 

“No, I wanna help look.” She replied steadily, ducking under the police tape after them. Sam nods at her as Akira looks up from inspecting the couch.

 

“Can you tell us what else the police said to you? Anything that could be useful?”

 

Rebecca’s resolve wavers a little as she looks around the crime scene, digging her teeth into her bottom lip, “Well…they said there wasn’t any sign of a break-in…said Emily let her attacker into the house.” Her eyes were misty again, “Zack’s lawyers, they’re…they’re already talking about a plea bargain.” She covered her mouth, sweeping the room again shakily, “Oh god…”

 

“Look, Bec,” Sam gently clasped her arms, turning her to face him so she wouldn’t have to look at the gruesome scene, “If Zack didn’t do this, it means someone else did. Do you have any idea who it could be?”

 

Rebecca stares up at him and starts to shake her head, sniffing and brushing a few tears back before recalling something that had happened recently, “There was one thing…about a week before Emily’s murder. Someone broke into the apartment, stole some of Zack’s clothes. The police, they…they didn’t think much of it since this place isn’t too far from downtown. People around here sometimes get robbed.”

 

Sam nods in understanding, squeezing Rebecca’s arms gently with a promise in his eyes as he spots Akira slip off down a side hall to the bedrooms and bathroom further back. Whispering he would be back, he turns to follow her down the short hall, where she is checking the rooms, which are, surprisingly, untouched, although something has obviously caught her attention. He approaches carefully, making sure she heard his footsteps, so he wouldn’t startle her as he paused behind her, following her line of sight to the top of the dresser in the bedroom. Sitting among a jewelry box, some candles, and a bottle of lotion were several framed pictures, all pointed inward, even as their occupants looked out at them from behind the glass. The one she was focused on was a picture of the two of them with Zack and Rebecca, taken shortly after she and Sam had started college. Zack and Rebecca had been the first friends they’d made here, the ones who’d helped they settle in and get used to the area, not to mention the school. Hell, Zack had been the one to introduce Sam to Jessica….

 

A warm hand cupped her shoulder and Akira looked back at Sam, managing a weak smile in return to the reassuring one he offered her. Her hand covered his, squeezing tight as she heaved a heavy sigh, turning away from the picture as Dean joined them in the bedroom.

 

“Just got a bit of info.” He nodded his head to where he’d left Rebecca, “Neighbor’s dog went from sweet to psycho around the time Zack’s girlfriend was killed.”

 

Sam turned to regard his brother as Akira cocked her head, nodding in understanding, “Animals have better senses than humans, it makes sense they would be sensitive to paranormal activity.”

 

“Obviously Fido saw something.” Arashi agreed as he appeared alongside his best friend, who jumped away from him in surprise. Since the twins had found ways to master their supernatural abilities, they were each using them more often, although Sam and Dean were still getting used to it. It would take some time before either of them was desensitized to either of the them appearing or disappearing at random like this.

 

“Dude!” Dean hissed, slapping his shoulder; Arashi smiled apologetically in reply as Akira shook her head at her brother, knowing he sometimes enjoyed startling their best friends, even if he wouldn’t admit it aloud. She turned her attention to the eldest Winchester brother, quirking a brow.

 

“So, you still think this isn’t our kind of thing?”

 

Dean huffed and eyed Akira out of the corner of his eye, shrugging and crossing his arms, “Yeah, I do…but, it probably couldn’t hurt if we took a look at that security tape, just to be sure.”

 

Akira exchanged an amused look with Sam as Arashi chuckled at Dean’s stubborn nature, knowing he wasn’t going to easily admit maybe he was wrong.

 

“Well, we won’t get anything done just standing around here, c’mon.” Akira grabs Dean’s arm and drags him out of the bedroom after her, leaving Sam and Arashi to chuckle and follow them back out to the living room, where Rebecca is still waiting for them. She looks up at their entrance, looking visibly uncomfortable in the wreckage of the apartment as she hugs herself tight, shifting her weight from foot to the other.

 

“Hey,” Dean smiles at her as Akira brings them to a stop in front of her, releasing his arm as he rubbed his neck, “So, that tape you were telling us about, the one with the security footage? You think your lawyers might be able to get their hands on it?” he smiled, managing to look somewhat sheepish, “We’d get it ourselves, but I’m afraid that’s a little out of our jurisdiction.”

 

Rebecca smiled faintly in understanding, even as a somewhat guilty look edges her expression, “I’ve, uh, I’ve already got the tape….” She rubbed her arm, glancing away shyly, “I didn’t want say anything in front of the police…” she glances uneasily up at Dean and Arashi, who both give her easy, reassuring smiles, “But, well, I kinda stole it off the Lawyer’s desk…I wanted to see it for myself, see if there wasn’t anything there that could prove Zack’s innocence.”

 

Arashi smiled gently at her in understanding, knowing if it was Akira or one of their adopted brothers, he would’ve probably done the same thing, “Hey, it’s okay, we get it. Sometimes we do stupid things for the ones we care about.” He squeezes her shoulder, earning a small, grateful smile in return as she nods, “Now, c’mon, let’s get back and look at this tape.” He gently ushers Rebecca out of the house, holding some tape out of the way so she can pass through the door before he followed her; Dean follows not too far behind and Sam helps Akira through before following last, casting the house one last look before closing the door firmly behind them.

 

Once back at Rebecca’s house, the five adults gather in the living room, where Rebecca pops the security tape into the VCR, fast-forwarding it to the time in which Zack had supposedly come home. She hits play, sitting forward on the coffee table to watch closely as the figure of her brother came on screen.

 

“Here he comes,” the team watches the black and white picture as the figure crosses the front lawn to the house and enters it. Arashi cocks his head as he notices the timestamp in the lower right corner, which reads out 22:04 pm. He points this out to Dean, who glances down, too, frowning to himself before turning to address Rebecca.

 

“This timestamp, it’s just after ten,” he pointed to it, furrowing his brows, “And the time of death was about 10:30, wasn’t it?”

 

Rebecca looked over at him, nodding, “Our lawyers brought in some kinda video expert to go over the tape.” She returned her attention to the TV, frowning, “He said the tape wasn’t tampered with and was authentic.”

 

“Hey Bec,” Sam sat forward, giving his friend a polite smile, “You think we could have those beers now?”

 

Rebecca looked over at Sam, furrowing her brows a bit before nodding and getting to her feet, only pausing to address Akira, since she knew she wasn’t fond of beer, “I have some wine coolers, too, you want one?”

 

Akira smiled gratefully, nodding, “Please, strawberry, if you have it?”

 

“And, uh,” Sam cleared his throat sheepishly as Rebecca turned to head into the kitchen, pausing again to look back once more, “Could we have a little something? Like sandwiches?” his stomach grumbled loudly in the silent room and Akira pressed a hand to her lips to stifle a laugh as Rebecca quirked a brow teasingly.

 

“What does this look like to you?” she tussled Sam’s hair as she moved past him to get to the kitchen, “Hooters?”

 

“I wish,” Dean murmured to himself as he and Arashi watch Rebecca walk out of the room before turning their attention to their siblings, identical frowns on their faces, knowing there was a reason for Sam having asked Rebecca to step out of the room. “Find something?”

 

“Yeah, look at this,” Akira leaned forward to rewind the tape and hit play again; Zack moves across screen toward the house, turning at one point to face the camera. For one reason or another, the figure somehow becomes distorted, akin to how a 3D video would be if the viewer wasn’t wearing the glasses, two forms molded together, faces contorted and twisted into one, making it hard to tell features apart. There is one indication that distinguishes the eyes from the rest of the face, however, in the glint that emits from the pupils as it faces the camera, a flash of silver in the distorted features indicating something supernatural. She hits pause on the tape while Dean frowns, glancing back at Arashi, whose gaze is completely transfixed on the screen.

 

“Looks like some camera flare.” Dean turns to Sam now, who shakes his head.

 

“Doesn’t look like any kind of camera flare I’ve ever seen.” He frowned, looking at Akira as she was just as transfixed on the figure on screen as her brother, her brain going a million miles an hour with what she had read about creatures like this.

 

“It is believed by many cultures that the eyes are the window to the soul,” she breathed, trying to distinguish the two sets of features from one another, anything that stands out aside from its eyes, “Photos allow glimpses of the soul.”

 

Dean eyed the young woman warily, as though concerned, “Okay…”

 

Sam was too lost in his own thoughts to notice his best friend’s behavior, rubbing his chin in thought before returning his attention to his brother, “You remember that dog back at the house, the one that was freaking out? Maybe he saw this thing. It could be some kind of dark double of Zack, one that looks like him but isn’t.’

 

“Like a Doppelganger.” Arashi murmured quietly in agreement.

 

“Right, it would explain how Zack was able to be in two places at once, right?”

 

Dean nods his head in agreement as Rebecca returns at that moment with their drinks and a small platter of sandwiches, asking if they’d found anything. Sam and Dean glance at their best friends, frowning a bit in concern at the unfocused glaze to both their eyes, each lost in their own whirlwind of thought as they were completely transfixed on the tape in front of them. Dean put a hand on Arashi’s shoulder, giving him a small shake as Sam grabbed Akira’s arm, turning her gently until she faced him.

 

“Akira?” he whispered, frowning as her body stayed locked where it was, eyes still focused ahead. In all the years he had known her, Sam had never seen her like this; sure, if she was thinking deeply about something, like important information she needed for a paper or something she needed to remember for a mission, she would sometimes space out on them, but never to this extent. It was almost like she was in some kind of trace, like someone had put a spell on her...it was disturbing and troubling all at once.

 

“Akira.” Sam held the young woman’s shoulders tight, jerking her around to face him fully as he cupped her chin, forcing her head to turn until her gaze met his. Bright golden orbs started dazedly back at him, any indication of Akira’s usual bright sky blue or her pupil noticeably absent among the liquid gold. His breath caught in his throat, both in surprise and yet amazement at the eerily beautiful sight before him.

 

In the time the twins’ powers had begun to manifest themselves, there had been noticeable changes to the pair of them, especially physically. Their eyes changing color as they were being one of them. It was an instantaneous switch from their normal color to that supernatural glow, like the power light coming on when Sam or Akira were turning on their laptops, so much so Dean and Sam sometimes wondered if either Arashi and Akira noticed when it happened. They could only hope they did, especially so they didn’t accidentally expose themselves to humans. Like Rebecca.

 

“Akira.” Sam gripped her arms tight, looking deep into her eyes, keeping his voice low, “Akira, come back to me.” He gave her a gentle shake, willing her to come back down to earth; her eyes blinked slowly, some form of recognition returning as her brows furrowed.

 

“What is it…?” Her full lips pulled downward, head cocked the slightest bit to the side as she seemed to return to herself, even as her iris was still a bright golden color.

 

“You drifted off for a second,” his eyes flickered over to where Rebecca was, thankfully, busy arranging plates on the coffee table before returning his gaze quickly to his best friend’s, keeping his voice low, “Something triggered your powers…your eyes are glowing.”

 

Akira sucked in a quick breath as Rebecca turned to the two, asking if they wanted their sandwiches now; while Akira busied herself with ejecting the tape and turning off the VCR, Sam turned to her, smiling gratefully as he accepted the beer she offered, nodding, “Yeah, thanks. We’re starving.” He took a swig from his bottle, glancing around when he noticed Dean and Arashi were absent. Inwardly, he sighed in relief, glad to know his brother had caught on, too, and scurried Arashi out before Rebecca could notice something was off, but he pulled a mildly concerned look onto his features as he turned to regard Rebecca.

 

“Where’d Dean and Arashi go?”

 

Rebecca indicated upstairs, “Asked to use the bathroom, said they’d be back in a few. Do they usually go to the restroom together?”

 

“Only so they don’t get lost.” Akira turned around, her eyes returned to their normal blue again, much to Sam’s relief, as she smiled gratefully at Rebecca, accepting her wine cooler. She took a slow sip, gathering herself together again before leaning forward to take one of the sandwiches from the platter.

 

Her eyes found the tape where she’d put it down on the table, eyebrows pinching together over the bridge of her nose, wondering what she had been seeing when she’d watched the man who had taken Zack’s form to frame him for his girlfriend’s murder. It was obvious he was a supernatural creature, especially with the way his eyes had changed color, but she had seen something beyond his physical appearance…was it another aspect of her and Arashi’s supernatural abilities they were just starting to tap into? Like some special supernatural vision they’d been bestowed from their parent(s) that allowed them to be able to see or recognize other supernatural creatures? And, if it was, what could they call this ability…and how would they even be able to learn how to control it? It wasn’t like they could practice it every day like their other abilities…Even in their profession, they didn’t necessarily run into the supernatural on a daily basis. Not that they knew of, anyway…

 

 _(It would really help if we, at the very least, knew the kind of supernatural creature we descend from…)_ Akira thought as she absent-mindedly listened to Sam talk with Rebecca while Dean and Arashi came back from the bathroom. She glances up, nodding to the two of them and discretely meeting her twin’s eye while he and Dean resume their seats. He presses his lips together in a faint smile, trying to reassure her that he was all right now, earning a relieved sigh in return. _(As for knowing who our parents are…that would more be a bonus than anything at this point…)_

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

After spending the afternoon going over the tape with Rebecca, the hunters are invited to spend the night in return for their help with this case. Although somewhat reluctant, the four eventually concede when she assures them her parents won’t mind them crashing in the guest room upstairs, so long as they don’t mind sharing a room, something they’re all more than familiar with and easily agree to. She even offers to let Akira crash in her bedroom for the night; although grateful, Akira respectfully declines, promising she’ll be alright sharing the guest room with her twin and the Winchesters.

 

“I’ve gotten used to their antics and their smell doesn’t bother me anymore.” She joked when Rebecca frowned at her in concern, as though unsure. Sam and Arashi chuckled, bemused, as Dean rebuffed her.

 

“Hey! We don’t smell that bad.” He glared playfully at her from the doorway of the guest room, dropping a couple of blankets onto the end of the bed, “We still shower.”

 

“Every other day.” Akira responded coolly, quirking a brow back at him while he made a face, “And between your showers, you three still get sweaty.”

 

“Who doesn’t?”

 

Rebecca’s expression softened, a hand pressing to her lips as she watched the exchange in bemusement, glancing at Sam, who paused beside her with his arms full of pillows, “Are they normally like this?”

 

“You should see them when we have to share a room at a hotel and they both need to use the shower.” He sighed, shaking his head in both exasperation and fondness, “It usually turns into a wrestling match over who gets to use it first.”

 

Rebecca can’t help but laugh at this, covering her mouth in bemusement, “If that’s the case, I hope they don’t share a bed to sleep at night.”

 

“We wouldn’t let them share a bed even if you paid us,” Sam deadpanned, “They’d kill each other over the blankets. It’s safer to have her share a bed with me or her brother.”

 

Rebecca giggles into her hand, nodding in understanding, “Definitely safer for everyone, if they’re that bad.” She smiled softly, watching Akira help Dean and Arashi arrange the blankets and pillows on the floor so they’ll be comfortable, “You’re all really close, aren’t you?”

 

“Kinda hard not to be when we’ve all grown up together.” Sam shrugged, even as his expression softened a bit, watching Akira and their brothers, “Dean’s always kinda been our protector, being the oldest, but it’s how he shows he cares. He and Akira might butt heads, but deep down, they would do anything for the other. Just as he would do for me or Arashi, or we would do for them.”

 

Rebecca glanced up at Sam out of the corner of her eye, her expression softening in understanding, knowing his words to be true on a deeper level, not just because the same could be said for her and Zack, but because she had seen it first-hand. From the first time she had met Sam and Akira, it had been glaringly obvious the two cared about one another, in every action and/or word they spoke in regard to the other. Hell, the first couple of months they were on campus, everyone had thought they were a couple, what with how close and protective they were of one another. It’d taken both of them a while to convince everyone they were nothing more than friends, especially Jessica and Akira’s ex. Sam and Akira had even helped one another convince their partners to give them a chance, continually denying they were involved with one another, even though a lot of people were actually rooting for the two of them to be a couple. Even when they were with Jessica and Jason.

 

Thinking back on it now, maybe that was one of the reasons why Jason had decided to break up with Akira. No matter what he, or anyone else, did, they wouldn’t be able to have the kind of relationship she had with Sam, touch her heart quite like he had. A frustrating prospect to be sure, considering the two were practically attached at the hip already. But, then again, it showed the kind of commitment one was willing to make when it came to being with one of them, even if it made more sense that Sam and Akira belonged together than with anyone else.

 

“You want me to take those?” Akira’s voice pulled Rebecca out of her thoughts and the young woman blinked, watching the smile her friends exchanged. It took a moment of gentle coaxing before Akira was able to convince Sam to hand over the pillows in his arms, which she brought over to add to the two bundles of blankets on the floor. Sam shook his head after her, chuckling to himself at how stubborn she could be, causing a familiar warmth in Rebecca’s chest that only made itself known when she was watching the pair of them.

 

“Hey Sam,” she touched his arm, drawing his attention, his head cocked quizzically to the side, smiling a bit. Rebecca hesitated, then decided to ask something different, not wishing to come off as callus or seem like she was prying, “I didn’t get the chance to ask earlier…but how’re you feeling? I know things must’ve been tough, after Jessica…”

 

Sam’s expression sobered a little and he glanced away for a second, rubbing his neck before letting a slow sigh escape his lips, eyes sliding back toward the others, “It has been really tough…knowing Jess is gone…I’m still trying to completely get over it, but Dean, Arashi, and Akira have been there to help me. It’s still going to take some time, though…”

 

Rebecca nodded in understanding, squeezing Sam’s shoulder gently, “You and Jess went really well together, Sam and I’m sorry you had to lose her like that…” he gave her a faint smile in gratitude, nodding his head, “But I know she would want you to be happy, not dwell on her death forever. Don’t let opportunities pass you by.” She pats his shoulder gently, giving him a soft smile, “I hope you guys sleep well, I’ll see you in the morning.”

 

“Thanks Becky.” Sam smiled faintly after Rebecca as she left the four to settle in, sighing to himself as he closed the door behind her and ran a hand through his hair. She meant well, he knew, but…if she knew the circumstances behind Jessica’s death…maybe she’d feel differently. Then she’d know why he couldn’t move on, not yet. Not until he avenged her.

 

“So,” Dean spoke up, drawing his little brother’s attention to where he knelt on the ground, regarding the twins seriously with raised eyebrows, “You two wanna tell us what happened downstairs?”

 

Arashi and Akira glance at one another, frowning together in uncertainty, their eyebrows pulling together in a similar fashion. It was rare to see the two of them pull such similar facial expressions, considering they usually saved something like that for when they were contemplating the same problem.

 

Frowning to himself, Sam moved across the room to take the empty space on the bed next to Akira, touching her shoulder with furrowed brows, “Did the two of you see something that could help with the case?”

 

Akira breaks her gaze with her brother to glance up at Sam, heaving a quiet sigh and nodding her head as Arashi shifted to sit down properly, running a hand through his midnight hair, “Yeah, we’re just…not quite sure what it is. We couldn’t quite tell…”

 

“Maybe we could figure it out together,” Sam gave her a reassuring smile, cocking his head curiously as Dean nodded his head in agreement, “Just tell us what you saw.”

 

Akira sighed once more, leaning her head almost tiredly against Sam’s shoulder; his arm wraps automatically around her waist, pulling her close to his side as Arashi shifts in his seat, pulling his thoughts together.

 

“Well…when we were looking at that tape, we saw…the guy that was pretending to be Zack…” he pressed his lips for a second, scrunching his nose, “I mean, we saw Zack, his face, but it was all distorted with another face underneath it. It’s like he had two faces, almost like he was wearing some kind of mask….”

 

“Looked kinda like how one of those 3D movie looks without the glasses,” Akira pointed out softly, eyebrows furrowing together over the bridge of her nose; Arashi nodded his head, “Yeah…like, the picture is distorted in blue and red. We think the face underneath is his real one…it had the same silver eyes.”

 

“Its structure was different, though,” Akira played with the end of her shirt, something she did when she was thinking; it helped her thought process when her hands were busy and not left wringing in her lap. “Different nose, mouth, and cheeks. The shape of the eyes changed, but not the color.” One of her hands came up, pressing to her top lip in thought.

 

“Akira’s theorized it might be a shapeshifter.” Arashi pointed out, watching as his sister mentally went back over every hunter book she had ever read and glancing at Sam and Dean, “I know we can’t be completely sure, but based on what we’ve seen, that’s our best guess.”

 

The brothers exchange a look with one another in thought before Sam gently squeezed Akira’s waist and Dean put a hand on Arashi’s shoulder, turning to him again.

 

“It’s what we’ve got right now,” he pats his best friend’s back, smiling reassuringly, “I know this hasn’t been easy on the two of you, but you did good. You did good.”

 

Sam nodded his head in agreement, gently rubbing Akira’s side, “In the morning, we’ll go and find out whatever else we can about this guy, okay? You two can just relax for the rest of the night.” He smiled at Akira as she frowned, as though unsure, squeezing her side gently, “C’mon, Aki, we should all be getting some sleep now. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

 

Dean and Arashi were already pulling their shoes and jackets off to get comfortable in their makeshift beds on the floor while Sam coaxed Akira to do the same before they turned down their bed. Once they’re all settled under their covers and comfortable, Dean clicks off the lights and settles down to sleep. Akira shifts to face Sam where he’s laying on the other side of the king bed, suddenly feeling very far away from him after growing up running to his small twin sized one whenever she was awakened by a nightmare.

 

 _(C’mon Akira, you’re a full-grown woman.)_ she berated herself, inwardly sighing and shifting around until her back faced Sam, hugging the pillow close to her with her lips pressed together, _(You’ve handled yourself just fine the last two years while Sam was with Jessica…don’t start relying on him to sooth away your fears every time a dream scares you again. He’s got enough on his plate to deal with than your issues.)_

 

As though in answer to her thoughts, a warm hand wound around her waist, pulling her back into a familiar, toned chest; she tensed a little in surprise, turning partially to look over her shoulder as Sam settled in behind her, squeezing her waist softly. His breath fanned across the back of her head and she had to fight to suppress the shiver that wanted to roll down her spine, the hair on the back of her neck raising.

 

“Try to get some sleep, Akira,” Sam’s voice was low, gentle, as it caressed her ear and Akira clenched her eyes, wondering if he knew just the kind of affect he had on her, “I’m right here if your dream comes back.”

 

Akira nodded, “Okay….” She whispered in a tight voice, listening to the sounds of Sam’s breathing growing deeper over the rapid beat of her heart. She took a slow breath, hugging the pillow tighter to her. _(If I can fall asleep, that is! Honestly, if this dream doesn’t drive me insane, you most certainly will, Sam Winchester!)_

 

The arm around her waist tightened, just the smallest bit, pulling Akira back until she was tucked into Sam’s chest and she could swear her cheeks were on fire when she felt his face bury into the crown of her head. She subconsciously relaxed at the familiar hold however, willing her heart to calm as she let out a slow, calming sigh at the feeling of his chest pressed into her back, his own heartbeat reverberating around her spine as she buried her face into the pillow while a little voice whispered tantalizingly from the recesses of her mind.

 

_(Not too bad a road to take going into Crazy town, though, is it?)_

 

No…no it most definitely was not.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Surprisingly, Akira is able to follow Sam into sleep not too long after he had drifted off, something she hadn’t thought would be possible with her mind so preoccupied with her physical reaction to having him so close. Maybe it was his familiar, reassuring presence that had helped ease her off to sleep, the knowledge that she had someone she could trust right there beside her when she would need him the most calming her flustered mind enough to allow her body the rest it needed. Which was a little strange in of itself considering she and Sam hadn’t done something like this since they’d reached adolescence. They were best friends, sure, but there were certain boundaries they needed to put up as they got older, especially as they started dating other people. They had to grow up.

 

Whatever the case, though, she got the sleep she needed to get going the next morning when Sam got them all up at 5 to go looking for clues. With their brothers complaining of the early hour, Sam quietly explains to Akira something he had figured out as he was falling asleep. It almost made her facepalm at her overlooking something so obvious.

 

The tape the four had watched the night before with Rebecca had showed the culprit behind Emily’s murder going into the house, but not coming out. If he hadn’t used the front door to exit, then that only left the back, where there was more than likely going to be a trail to follow, one the police wouldn’t’ve looked for since they’d already caught the ‘attacker’ at the scene of the crime. That trail was what they needed to find and follow to the real culprit.

 

“All right,” Dean drawled slowly a half hour later outside Zack’s house as he leans against the Impala, mulling Sam’s theory over in his mind as Arashi stretches his arms over his head with a groan, messing with his bedhead, watching their siblings look around the back of the house for the trail, “We can see your line of thinking, Sam, but I still don’t get why we have to be out here looking for a trail at 5:30 in the morning…”

 

“The early bird gets the worm, guys,” Akira told them briskly, her eyes on the ground as she follows a pair of footprints leading from the back door to the street, eyes darting up to a nearby telephone pole, which is smeared with blood. “Look here.” She pointed to it, drawing the men’s attention as Sam came up alongside her.

 

“Someone did come this way.” He confirmed with a nod as Arashi and Dean look up and down the street, frowning together when they fail to notice anything else leading off that smear.

 

“Looks like the trail ends there, though,” Dean indicated the street around them as Arashi walks a few feet away from the Impala, scanning the road with pinched eyebrows, “Don’t see anything else, do either of you?”

 

Sam and Akira frown as they let their gaze sweep the sidewalk, finding a lack of blood or footsteps that could indicate where the killer could have gone from there. Then, their eyes meet briefly as they consider where to go from there when the sound of a siren sounds from down the block, growing into a screeching wail as an ambulance drives on past, disappearing around a corner. Arashi looks up at the noise, looking at Dean, then Sam and Akira as they all frown together and pile into the Impala and Akira’s van to follow.

 

They arrive outside an apartment building several blocks away, where a crowd has gathered to watch as one of the tenants, a young Asian man, is led out in handcuffs and put into the back of one of the police cars while Paramedics are inside. Arashi cocks his head, then gently taps a woman next to him, leaning in close to speak to her.

 

“Hey, what happened here?”

 

The woman turned to look at him, furrowing her eyebrows as she hugged herself, keeping her sweatshirt close, “He just tried to kill his wife,” she told the four grimly, “Tied her up in his home office and beat her.”

 

The other three looked over, frowning together, “That’s awful.” Akira crossed her arms, pulling a concerned look onto her features as the woman nodded, eyes fixed on the man in the back of the police car.

 

“I always thought he was such a sweet man, too…” she sighed deeply, as though burdened by this news, “Would always wave and say hello on his way to work in the mornings…”

 

The four young adults exchanged looks with one another once more as the woman was drawn away into conversation with another of the neighbors nearby. The familiarity of this story was causing knots in each of their stomachs and they knew they needed to investigate this further to see if it really was like Zack’s case.

 

“You two check out the back alley,” Dean pointed to Sam and Akira, knowing they would do a better sweep to ensure they didn’t miss anything while Arashi headed over to speak to one of the nearby police officers, “We’ll find out what we can.”

 

“Be careful,” Akira whispered sternly as he followed her brother before she turned to follow Sam around the side and rear of the building to look for clues. While he checks inside the trashcans and dumpster, she searches behind and around, checking under trash for any sign of blood or footsteps. She spots some blood leading from the back door along the alley to the street, where it vanishes much in the same way it had at Zack’s house. After pointing this out to Sam, the two moves back around to the front of the complex, where Dean and Arashi approach them from the other side.

 

“Well, this most definitely is our kind problem.” Dean sighed heavily, the bridge of his nose wrinkled as his lips were pressed together in thought.

 

“And?” Akira turned to face her brothers, crossing her arms with a frown, “What’s the story?”

 

“Well, according to the patrolman who first arrived on the scene, he stopped to hear this guy, Alex’s story.” Arashi pressed his lips together, mirroring his twin’s stance, “Apparently the guy was driving home from a business trip when his wife was attacked.”

 

Akira looked at Sam, who furrowed his brows deeply, “Two places at once…”

 

Dean nodded his head in agreement, “Exactly.” His facial expression scrunches, making Akira and Sam cock their heads together curiously, “Told the police he saw himself in the house, like a clone or something. Unfortunately, they write it off as him being a nutjob.”

 

“Hm,” Akira drummed her fingers on her bicep, “Two dark doubles with the same attack pattern….”

 

“Seems like it’s the same ‘person’ then.” Arashi hummed to himself as Sam and Akira exchanged a quiet look among themselves, Sam rubbing his chin slowly in thought.

 

“Hm…the pieces of the puzzle are coming together more and more.” He frowned to himself.

 

“Although not entirely common, it is known every culture has its’ own shapeshifter lore.” Akira scratched her chin in thought, cocking her head a little, “Although it does vary since they’re often legends of creatures that are able to transform not just into other people, but animals as well.”

 

“Yeah, like skinwalkers or werewolves.” Dean agreed, nodding his head.

 

“Well, with how the attacks are played out, not to mention within just a couple of blocks from each other…” Akira hummed, “Definitely seems like a shapeshifter is prowling around this neighborhood.”

 

“There is one thing I want to know, though…” Sam looked from Akira to Dean and Arashi, “In any lore on shapeshifters, has there been evidence that they can fly?”

 

The two men exchanged looks with one another before shaking their heads, “Not that we’ve heard. Why?”

 

“We found a trail back behind the complex,” Akira indicated toward the back alley, “Someone took the back way out and headed off in that direction.” She pointed down the street, away from the front of the building, away from the police and any eye witnesses that could spot him.

 

“Just like at Zack’s,” Arashi snapped his fingers, making Sam and Akira nod their heads in agreement.

 

“Unfortunately, though, it looks like the trail suddenly ends, just like back at the house,” Sam bit his lip, “It’s like it just disappeared.”

 

“If that’s true, then we only have one other way to go,” Dean looked down the road, spotting a manhole several yards down, “Down.”

 

Exchanging looks with one another in silent agreement, Sam and the twins follow Dean down to the manhole. After a quick discussion, it’s decided one of them should stay behind to keep watch while the rest went down to look for clues, just in case any police are still around, even though they’re sure the coast is pretty much clear already. They couldn’t risk anyone coming up on them and stopping their investigation before they’d solved it. Arashi volunteers to stay behind, helping his sister move the manhole cover and holding it aside as he watched the trio descend into the sewer.

 

“These tunnels run between each of the buildings to help with running water and necessities.” Akira blinked golden eyes, scanning the shadows as she led them down the narrow tunnel, “An effective way of getting around if you know the layout.”

 

“Sounds about right,” Dean spotted something just ahead, grabbing Akira’s arm and pulling her to a stop. “Look down.” He told her when she glanced back at him quizzically, dropping his own eyes to the floor. Akira and Sam followed his gaze, crouching for a closer look of the slimy pile left on the concrete.

 

“Is this from the victim…?” Sam muttered, pursing his lips as he and Dean wrinkled their noses; Akira reached into her pocket and opened her pocketknife, poking at the piece of pale flesh, wrinkling her nose at the blood that seeped out from underneath.

 

“You know, I had a gross thought,” Dean narrowed his eyes in thought, pressing his lips together as Akira hooked the blade of her knife under a piece of skin, lifting it up off the ground for a closer look, “What if when the shapeshifter changes its shape…it sheds its skin?”

 

“You mean like a snake?” Sam frowned, shuddering at the mere thought, “That is pretty sick.” He pulled a face as Akira abruptly dropped the pieces back onto the pile, gulping back a gag as she wiped the knife off on her pants and returned it to her pocket.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Ten minutes later found the team gathered around the trunk of the Impala, where Dean is loading bullets into a couple of guns while Akira explains what they had found to Arashi through the open side door of her van. He frowned a bit at the news, but cocks his head at Dean’s theory, closing one eye halfway and scrunching his nose a little as he mulled it over in his head.

 

“Hm, well…that does make sense,” he watched Dean and Akira load the weapons, “I mean, the shapeshifter has to have a way of changing one way or another. It’s disgusting, true…but there has to be a price to pay for them to be able to mimic the appearance of anyone they want.” He accepted the gun Dean offered him, lifting his shirt to tuck it into the waistband of his jeans. “Thankfully there’s one disadvantage every shapeshifter shares.”

 

“It can be killed with a silver bullet to the heart.” Akira agreed, climbing out of her van as Dean nodded his head in agreement. The sound of one of their phones chimed and a ringtone rang out into the quiet air between them. Sam reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out, glancing at the phone screen briefly before answering it.

 

“Becky?” The name drew the attention of the other three hunters and the twins perked their ears to be able to hear the conversation properly.

 

“Where are you, Sam?” Rebecca asked briskly, an upset edge to her voice that made Akira and Arashi look at one another with a sinking feeling in their stomachs.

 

“We’re out by Zack’s,” Sam explained, furrowing his eyebrows at her tone, “We’re just checkin’ a few things out.”

 

“Well, look, Sam, I want you, Akira, and your brothers to stop.” Her voice was hard, cold, startling both him and the twins, who frowned together, “I don’t need any of your help anymore.”

 

“What’re you talkin’ about…?” Sam frowned deeply, exchanging a quiet look with Akira, who crossed her arms once more.

 

“I’ve informed Zack’s lawyers about us going to the crime scene yesterday.”

 

Sam scoffs as Arashi facepalms and Akira drops her head, sighing deeply and shaking her head slowly; well, this most certainly was going to put a kink in their plans.

 

“Why would you do something like that?”

 

“Well, I informed them we were with a couple of police officers,” Rebecca reminded him of the story he and Akira had made up to get them onto the crime scene, “But then they did a background check and informed me there was no Detectives Dean Winchester or Arashi Singer.”

 

Sam winced, chewing his bottom lip sheepishly, “Beck –”

 

“No,” Rebecca cut him off firmly, “I don’t understand why you and Akira would do something like this, lie about that.”

 

“We’re tryin’ to help, Becky…”

 

“Trying to help?” she scoffed in disbelief, “Did either of you realize that that was a sealed crime scene? Because of you two, Zack’s case could be ruined!”

 

“Bec,” Sam frowned sadly, “I’m sorry, but –“

 

“No, goodbye, Sam.” Rebecca hung up without giving Sam a chance to say anything else. He frowned and pulled his phone away from his ear, peering down at it with an unreadable expression on his face. Akira frowns, putting a comforting hand on Sam’s arm, squeezing gently while their brothers watch on quietly before exchanging a look. Dean finally sighs and comes up alongside the pair.

 

“I hate to say it…but this is what we were tryin’ to warn the two of you about.” He offers a faint, somewhat apologetic smile, “You lie to your friends because they wouldn’t treat you the same if they knew the real you. It’s just easier if you’re both –“

 

“Like you two?” Akira looked at him sadly, then at her twin, who smiled apologetically, nodding.

 

“Yeah…” he sighed, running a hand through his mussed-up hair, “None of us are exactly like other people, you know? Especially not us,” he indicted himself and Akira, who sighed warily, knowing he was right. Dean gave the two of them a reassuring look, patting Arashi’s back gently.

 

“Hey, at least our job isn’t without perks.” He chuckled as Akira offered Sam a gun; he smiled faintly in agreement and took the gun from her, stowing it in the back of his jeans. Dean smiles at him and the twins as he closed the trunk again and they returned to the manhole through which they’d entered before. Arashi made sure he went last to pull the lid closed behind them.

 

Once down in the sewers, Dean leads the way with a flashlight, with Akira and Sam following not too far behind and Arashi watching the rear; each of them as their gun drawn and the twins keep an eye on the shadows, knowing their abilities would be able to tell them when the shapeshifter was nearby.

 

“I think we’re close to its’ lair.” Dean announced after about twenty minutes of walking, scanning the narrow tunnel from before. Sam is able to see his brother from over Akira’s head as something catches her attention on one of the pipes on the wall, at Sam’s face level. She crinkles her nose at the sight of the second pile of blood and skin that’s been left there, and she suppresses the urge to gag. Dean points it out to Sam, who pulls a face at the sight of it. Moving past it, the team steps into a slightly larger space ahead, looking around. There are piles of clothes and cloth in the corners, dirty and wrinkled like they hadn’t been washed in ages.

 

“Looks like this guy’s been living down here for a while.” Dean frowned, shining the flashlight around the room and moving over to check out some of the clothes with Arashi. Akira frowns in concern, pinching her eyebrows.

 

“With a place like this to hide, it makes you wonder just how many murders he’s gotten away with…” she murmured, moving across the room to check out another tunnel leading off it when she heard Sam yell out to Dean; the young woman whirled around just as something solid hit her, sending her falling backward into the wall as it ran past. Gunshots echoed off the concrete walls, reverberating in her ears as footsteps receded into the distance.

 

“C’mon, Aki!” Arashi grabs her bicep, pulling her upright again before she can recollect herself, the sudden unbalance of her momentum causing her to stumble as her brother pulled her after the shapeshifter, who has already disappeared ahead of them. They’re running for ten minutes before they reach a dead end, with the only way for them to go being up. With Sam and Dean right behind them, the twins lead the way, stepping out into a back street further in town. The four of them look around, frowning when they’ve found they’ve lost sight of the shapeshifter.

 

“We should split up here.” Akira pointed out, quickly tucking her gun away in her jacket; the other men nod their heads in agreement, Sam and Arashi tucking their own guns away as well.

 

“We’ll all meet around the other side of the street,” Dean ushered to Arashi to come with him and the two set off in one direction while Akira followed Sam in the other. Either way, there are several paths leading off from the back alley and the team has to split up further to check every nook and cranny they come across, wanting to make sure they didn’t miss any clues that had been left behind, each of them with a tight grip on their weapons so they can use it at a second’s notice.

 

It isn’t until Arashi’s checking the last side alley he’s come to that the shapeshifter strikes. After checking to make sure there are no clues in any of the metal trash cans or the dumpster used by an Italian restaurant, Arashi heads for the back street from which he’d come. Each of his siblings is nowhere in sight, making him frown to himself, hoping they were all safe; even if the shapeshifter was one of the ‘easier’ supernatural creatures they faced, this one was crafty and knew how to manipulate a situation in its’ favor, meaning it probably had more than one trick up its sleeve for outdoing the hunters. Each of them were capable at fighting and defending themselves, but they could still make a mistake if they weren’t careful.

 

“Arashi!” Dean’s voice drew the young man’s attention and his eyes swept the length of the street to the opening of an alley just about a yard down; he hears the sounds of shoes scuffing the pavement, then a crash as though a trashcan had been knocked over. “Arashi, I found him! I found the son of a bitch!” Metal hits the ground then and Arashi watches as Dean’s gun comes flying out of the shadows, skidding across the street. Arashi’s immediately in it’s path, scooping the weapon into his hand and cocking it as he whirled to face the alley. A pair of figures scuffle in the darkness and he hears an exhale of breath as one pins the other to the wall of the alley; Dean growls out a curse, telling the shapeshifter to let go of him.

 

Arashi takes aim and shoots; there’s a yell of pain in a voice that squeezes his heart in a vice as he watches the figure stumble back, releasing…

 

“Dean?” Arashi called, watching as the man he’d shot went down after a punch to the face; he runs the length of the alley, grabbing for his best friend’s shoulder with a racing heart, eyes wide as he prayed to the heavens it had been the shapeshifter he’d shot and not –

 

A pair of silver eyes peering out at him from a pair of distorted faces is the last thing he remembers before pain explodes out from his right temple and the world goes black.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

A dull ache slowly pulls Arashi back to the waking world, pulling a faint groan from his lips as the muscles around his temples throbbed and clenched painfully.

 

 _(Shit…that jackass must’ve hit me with a damned brick or something…)_ The young man growled to himself, _(That’s gonna fuckin’ smart for days now…)_ His eyes clenched at the pain and Arashi squinted out from under his eyelashes to judge the brightness of wherever he was, hoping it wouldn’t aggravate his headache too much.

 

A faint light is dimmed against the white of a dirty bedsheet that covers him, causing his eyebrows to knit a little in confusion. Opening his eyes further, Arashi shifts to get up, frowning at the feeling of something hard and sturdy digging into his back and biceps, flexing his muscles to bring his arms around to help balance himself. His movement are restricted, however, when the harsh fibers of a rope tightens around his wrists and forearms, keeping him from moving too far.

 

 _(What the…hell?)_ Arashi frowned to himself, wondering how he got here when the memory of Dean and the shapeshifter in that alley came crashing to the forefront of his mind; his heart almost stopped in his chest, throat constricting around his next breath, almost choking him. Dean had been…and that shapeshifter took his… _(Oh my god…I shot my best friend!)_ Worry and concern for Dean’s wellbeing constricted his chest, painful guilt catching his heart in a vice like grip, _(Shit, Dean! I should’n’t’ve been so impulsive…FUCKING SHIT-EATING ASSHOLE MOTHERFUCKER!)_ His head came back, smacking into the beam he was tied to, taking quick, rapid breaths. _(Damn it, I need to pull it together…I need to pull it together…if I want to find Dean and the others.)_ He had to take a deep breath to suppress the rage bubbling up in his chest, gritting his teeth together as he willed his emotions under control. The last time he had let his emotions get the better of him, the table in his and Akira’s hotel had flown across the room and made a hole in the wall between their and Dean and Sam’s room because he’d been half asleep and stubbed his toe against one of the legs. Thankfully neither Akira, Sam, or Dean had been in the way or Arashi would’ve felt horrible if they’d gotten hurt because he’d lost his temper over such a stupid little thing.

 

 _(Okay…)_ Arashi exhaled deeply, leaning his head back into the post behind him, taking slow breathes, _(Focus….focus…)_ Opening his eyes once more, the young man focused on the sheet that was covering him, focusing intently on moving it; cold air hit his face as the sheet flew away from him, fluttering over to rest in a corner just across from him in a small, dingy room. The first thing that hit Arashi was the smell of damp cement and mold, faint undertones of excrement causing his nose to wrinkle, _(Of course he would stick me in the sewer…but where, exactly?)_ He scanned the little area he was in, taking in the dingy walls and attempts to look over his shoulder, but the ropes restrain his movements, making him groan, “For fuck’s sake!” he growls, giving a hard, quick jerk; the bindings break and Arashi shifts to get his legs under him, pushing up until he’d standing straight again, letting his eyes survey the rest of the room. The underground room in which the shapeshifter had put him was small, something akin to the size of a janitor’s closet with a small opening high on one wall and a single tunnel behind him leading off into darkness.

 

Seeing as that was his only way out, Arashi’s eyes lighten to a deep ruby red color as he moves carefully toward it, tentatively reaching his senses out for a feel on the situation and lowering his mental shields to test the waters. Voices whispered from the shadows of his mind, random and jumbled, intermixing with the sounds of everyday life echoing from the streets over his head over the quiet flow of water as it moved through the sewer. His footsteps were the only ones he heard in the tunnel, which veered off to the right after about fifteen feet and let out into another faintly lit room about ten yards ahead. A pair of familiar voices suddenly tease the edges of his mind and Arashi’s heart rose as he could sense them coming from straight again, although he’s careful to stop and listen for another just to check to make sure it’s just them and the creature is not present, even when he’s disappointed at the notable absence of his sister’s inner voice as well.

 

“Dean?” he steps carefully into the larger room, peering around at the chaotic arrangement of different wooden boxes and piles of clothes that litter the space around him, the only light coming from at least a dozen melting candles scattered throughout, “Sam?”

 

“Arashi?” The familiar voice to his right draws his attention and the young man spots a figure on the floor covered in a white sheet like he had been; he crosses the space in seconds, yanking the sheet aside. Dean leans his head back to look at him, smirking, “Oh man am I glad to see you.”

 

“Not as much as I am to see you,” Arashi moves around Dean and pulls at the ropes binding his hands together; a dark stain on Dean’s jacket caught his attention and he glanced up briefly, his heart getting stuck in his throat at the sight of the bullet wound in his bicep. “Shit man…I fucked up…”

 

“You made a mistake,” Dean pointed out as Arashi freed him, rubbing his wrists, “It happens to the best of us, Ara…”

 

“Hm…” Arashi glanced away, not completely convinced as he scanned the room, “Where’s Sam and Akira?”

 

“I’m over here,” Sam’s voice sounded just a short distance away and Arashi walked down a narrow path made between the boxes littering the floor to where another sheet covered the younger Winchester. He got rid of that and immediately got to work on freeing Sam next, furrowing his brows deeply when he couldn’t sense his sister nearby. “Have you seen Akira since before we got here?”

 

Sam shook his head sadly, frowning, “We split up to check out a couple of side alleys and agreed to meet at the Impala, but she never showed up, just the shapeshifter. He made himself look like Dean, tried to convince me he was him, but I knew….I tried to confront him, but the bastard knocked me out with a damn crowbar.”

 

“Where is he now?” Dean frowned as he untied the rope around Sam’s neck before he and Arashi each took an arm and hauled him to his feet.

 

“Went to Rebecca’s…” Sam furrowed his brows anxiously, “Said he was going to attack her.”

 

“Did he say anything about where Akira was?” Arashi chewed his lip, hoping the shapeshifter hadn’t hurt his sister; Sam shook his head, looking just as worried about her as Arashi was. Dean squeezed his arm tight, even as his eyebrows etched wrinkles into his forehead.

 

“I’m sure she’s okay, Akira’s a tough girl,” he tried to offer a comforting grin, “We need to go stop this son of bitch first, before he hurts Rebecca. Arashi, do you think you could teleport us there?”

 

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Sam shook his head as Arashi began to nod, drawing both his brothers’ quizzical looks, “We don’t know the situation yet, the police could’ve already been called, and we don’t want to walk onto a crime scene. Let’s just get out of here first and figure out what’s going on.”

 

“You want to do damage control now?” Dean frowned incredulously, earning a nod from Sam as Arashi thought this over, “Really, dude?”

 

“Sam has a point, though, Dean.” Arashi spoke up, turning to his best friend, “We can’t walk into a situation like this blindly. We get caught, then we can’t catch the shapeshifter and more people could be hurt, including Rebecca and Akira. We have to be smart about this.”

 

Dean frowned at Arashi in disbelief as Sam gave him a grateful smile, nodding, as the eldest of the team finally sighed, conceding, “Fine…we’ll do it your guys’ way for now. We’ll find a normal way out while you fill in Ara about some of the things you’ve learned about the shifter.” He pat Sam’s shoulder before starting out of the lair, leaving Arashi to blink quizzically at Sam. The young man smiled a bit, patting his friend’s back as they followed Dean out while he explained about what little he had found out about the shapeshifter when he’d first woken up.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

_“An anonymous tip has led police to a home out in the Central West End, where a local woman was found bound and gagged by a S.W.A.T. team. Her attacker was described as a white male, approximately twenty-four to thirty years of age, found hiding in her home.”_

 

“Shit….” Akira hissed the curse under her breath as a sketch of Dean appeared on the display of televisions inside the window of an appliance store, furrowing her brows deeply at the storefront through the driver’s side window of her van from across the street, “Bastard moves fast, doesn’t he…? Sam…I hope you’re okay…”

 

There wasn’t much Akira remembered after she’d separated from Sam on that backroad aside from being drawn into the alley between a Chinese takeout restaurant and an old, dilapidated apartment building, convinced she’d heard something suspicious around the dumpster before her world had gone black. When she’d woken up again, she’d found herself tied up under an old dirty sheet in the back of her van, which was left by itself outside the apartment complex she’d parked at that morning. Neither the Impala nor shapeshifter had been in sight, nor had she been able to sense his or the other hunters’ presence. Although knowing the shapeshifter had more than likely taken the boys down into the sewers, Akira had known he would’ve tried to go after someone else and had driven back into town to look for clues, hoping her brother and the Winchesters would meet up with her a little later. And, judging by the police report, she had a pretty good hunch they had been the ones to put the call in and knew where to go next, even if it would be a stupid idea to bring Dean around the house considering his face was now plastered on every television screen in this city and the police were, more than likely, still hovering around there.

 

 _(Knowing Dean though…)_ Akira checked her side mirror and pulled out into traffic, _(Especially when it comes to the Impala, he’s going to want to get his car back and kick the shifter’s ass for doing this. Let’s just hope he’s careful not to get himself caught…)_

 

Sighing to herself, Akira pulled to a stop at a light, drumming her fingers absent-mindedly against the steering wheel as she wondered what she could say to Rebecca to convince her she wasn’t going to hurt her when movement caught the corner of her eye. The young woman turned, spotting a familiar figure making its way down the sidewalk in the direction she was going.

 

“Becky?” She frowned, noticing her friend’s rumpled appearance with a heavy heart; her clothes were torn and ruffled, likely from the shapeshifter’s assault, hair messy and unkempt as her arms wrapped protectively around her midsection, tucking her jacket in close around her. Akira drove through the light and slowed as she approached, honking the horn to gain her friend’s attention as she pulled up to the curb.

 

“Akira…?” her eyebrows pulled together as she watched her friend lean across the passenger seat to unlock the door and push it open. “What are you doing?” She eyed the other young woman mistrustfully, leaning forward a little to peer around the head of the seat into the back. Akira could sense her apprehension and mistrust, knowing she was looking for Dean since she knew he was like a brother to her.

 

“I was coming to check on you and saw you walking home.” Akira looked gently at Rebecca, willing her to believe her, “I don’t know where ‘Dean’ is, trust me, I just heard what happened. Please, let me drive you home.”

 

Rebecca eyed Akira uneasily, pressing her lips together as she shifted her weight foot to foot, “I dunno, Akira…isn’t he like your brother? And then the thing you and Sam tried to pull….”

 

“Becky…” Akira frowned apologetically, “You have no idea how sorry we are we lied like that, but we would never hurt you like this. We wouldn’t hurt Zack like this. If you just give me the chance, I can explain. So please?”

 

Rebecca continued to look uncertain, casting the back of Akira’s van another apprehensive look before taking in her friend’s features; after a couple of beats, she finally sighs, conceding, pulling the door open further and climbing into the passenger seat. Akira leans back into her seat to get comfortable, waiting until Rebecca buckled herself in before pulling back out into the street.

 

“I know this is all kinda crazy….” Akira wet her lips slowly, gathering her thoughts, “It isn’t normal, but you have to believe me, the man who attacked you wasn’t Dean. It was a –“

 

“Shapeshifter?” Rebecca supplied, peering at Akira out of the corner of her eye; Akira looked at her a little in surprise, furrowing her brows a bit, making her sigh. “‘Dean’,” she did air quotes, “Told me about it…before he attacked me. All of you do know how nuts this sounds, though, don’t you?” she turned to face Akira fully, pressing her lips together, “How could any of you know about something like this? And why would any of you do something horrible like what Dean did?”

 

“We wouldn’t Becky, because it wasn’t Dean.” Akira sighed deeply, knowing this was going to take a lot of explaining for Rebecca to be able to understand, “And we know about this kind of stuff because we grew up with it…” she paused for a minute to gather her thoughts, then explained about how she, Arashi, and the Winchesters had grown up as hunters, about how their fathers had taught them everything they knew about the supernatural. There was a short stretch of silence after she finished, during which time Akira pulled into the driveway outside Rebecca’s parent’s house and parked.

 

“Wow…” Rebecca finally murmured, caught somewhere between disbelief and amazement, looking at Akira full on again, “No wonder why you and Sam have been so close…did anyone at school…?” Akira shook her head, making Rebecca pause again to consider this.

 

Akira’s expression saddened, “No…when Sam and I came to Stanford, we wanted to leave the life of hunters behind. We didn’t tell anyone about it.”

 

Rebecca frowned deeply, sadly, “That must have been hard…”

 

Akira shrugged halfheartedly, “It got easier…we just so wanted to put that life in the past and keep it there…but, we just couldn’t…not after being apart of it for so long…not when we weren’t…normal.” She fiddled with her necklace again, making Rebecca wonder for a minute if she meant something deeper, something hidden under the surface she couldn’t let anyone else see. Before Rebecca could think about what to say, Akira shook her head, as though clearing it, “But…that’s not important right now. C’mon, let’s get you inside where it’s safe and warm.”

 

Unbuckling herself and pocketing her keys, the young woman climbed out of the van, pushing the door closed behind her; Rebecca frowned at her momentarily through the window before heaving a quiet sigh as she climbed out of the van as well. As she closed the door, Rebecca suddenly heard the sound of a body hitting the ground, which made her she freeze, listening intently for a couple of beats before she took a couple of steps around the front of the van, peering around toward the driver’s side.

 

“Akira…?” she called uncertainly, taking another step and peering around the front bumper with a feeling of dread knotting her stomach; her heart beat quick in her chest, her instinct screaming at her to make a run for her house, lock the door and call the police even as she worried for what could have happened to her friend and if she was okay. What she spotted made her heart sink into the very pit of her stomach in panic and terror.

 

Crumpled in a pile on the ground, Akira lay partially face down, the only part of her face Rebecca could see streaked with a trail of blood from a gash high on her right temple.

 

“Aki -?” Footsteps behind her caught Rebecca’s attention and she whirled around in time to spot ‘Dean’s’ familiar face before pain exploded through her head and her world went black.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Okay…” Arashi turned the information over in his mind, humming to himself, “So…the shifter knew things that Dean did….?” He looked between Sam and Dean, quirking his brows as the younger Winchester nodded, “That’s…weird. It almost sounds like he was…downloading his thoughts and memories or something…”

 

Sam nodded again, “Yeah, we think that’s why he kept us alive.” He frowned as Arashi cocked his head, furrowing his brows, “you think he might have some kinda psychic connection or something? Like that thing, oh, what’s it called…?” he clicked his tongue, then snapped his fingers, “The Vulcan mind meld?” Sam shrugged a little, unsure, his frown deepening as he turned to regard Dean just behind them.

 

“Dean, would you just let it go?” He sighed heavily after listening to his brother’s grumbling the entire walk back to Rebecca’s house; Dean grunted in disproval, his lips pressed together as he continued to grumble angrily at the idea of the shapeshifter driving his car. Arashi couldn’t help but smile faintly in amusement at his best friend’s disgruntled demeanor, knowing his car getting stolen was the last thing he’d needed tonight after the shapeshifter had kidnapped all of them and assumed Dean’s identity, especially since the Impala was one of the last things that connected him and Sam to their father. The car was older than any of them and was taken such good care of one would think it was brand new.

 

“I’m sure baby’s just fine, Dean.” Arashi reassured him as they came up around the side of Rebecca’s house, “Besides, that isn’t our biggest concern right now.” His eyes trailed up to the house, taking note of the dim lights that shone through a couple of the first-floor windows and wondering, vaguely, if Rebecca was inside now or if she was still talking with police at the nearby hospital. Distantly, Arashi hoped the later was true, knowing she would be safer under the supervision of hospital staff and police officers now while they dealt with the shapeshifter. “We’ve still got to find Akira and your double to teach him a lesson.”

 

Sam sniffed his agreement as they turned the corner, spotting the Impala and Akira’s van parked out in front of Rebecca’s house. Each of them looks relieved at the sight, Dean half glad to see the Impala, partially relieved and anxious at the sight of Akira’s van, hoping along with Arashi and Sam that that meant she was safe inside the house. Before any of them could move further, however, a police car comes around the bend at the other end of the street and parks on the other side of the Impala, making the trio freeze.

 

“Crap, we should go.” Arashi grabs for Dean’s arm, turning to head in the opposite direction, only to stop again when they spot another police cruiser parked just a few yards behind them. After a quick scan of their surroundings, Arashi pulls Dean toward a fence to their right, ushering Sam to follow, “C’mon, this way!”

 

“No, you two should go.” Sam shakes his head, pausing a few steps behind them while the two look back at him with raised eyebrows, as though asking him what he was thinking.

 

“But Sam, they’ll catch you!” Dean furrowed his brows at his younger brother, as though unable to understand this, “We can’t leave you.”

 

Sam offered a reassuring smile, shaking his head, “They can’t hold either me or Arashi, not without cause, anyway. You two should go on ahead, stay out of sight, try to find the shifter. I’ll go check in on Rebecca and see if Akira’s hunkered down with her, find out what happened.” He ushered for the two to go and Arashi’s hand tightens around Dean’s bicep as he sighs, conceding, and gets ready to teleport them away, “Dean, Ara,” The duo pauses, looking back at Sam as he gave them a pleading look, “Please, be careful.” Arashi smiles reassuringly and nods as Dean casts his younger brother a grateful look before the pair disappear into the night, hoping against anything Sam would be okay against the officers as he said.

 

Arashi makes them appear in the back of Akira’s van, where the two wait out the brief interrogation going on just outside; the police ask Sam basic questions, what he’s doing out so late and around Rebecca’s house, what his relation to her is, etc. He answers politely, then is released as he’s said while the police depart, leaving him to head for the house. Rebecca answers the door, as expected, and it isn’t until Arashi reports Sam is inside that the two thinks to move, clambering out to gather new guns and silver bullets from the Impala. Then, it’s back down into the sewers to find the bastard who’d started all this in the first place.

 

Under the streets, the hunters search around for any signs that could indicate where the shapeshifter might be hiding, following the occasional shed skin and bodily fluids back in the direction of the large chamber in which Sam and Dean had been held. Just as before it was lit by a small army of candles scattered about the space, most of which was still taken up by a variety of miscellaneous objects, from wooden boxes and crates to old, rusted chains hung up on the grey walls. The pair move carefully around the revolting piles of skin and blood that litter the floor, holding their pistols aloft as they listen intently for any sudden noise or movement nearby. Something suddenly shifts, a rustle of fabric overlapping a muffled voice that they couldn’t quite make out.

 

Exchanging a look with Dean over his shoulder, Arashi advances carefully in the direction of the noise, spotting a figure in a shadowed corner, which, he soon discovers, is a person covered in a sheet. Frowning, the young man moves closer, pulling the sheet away as his heart sank deep into his gut.

 

Big, terrified blue eyes stare back at him from a dirty, bruised face, breath leaving Rebecca’s lips in short, harsh bursts as she flinches away from him almost instinctively, as though anticipating a hit, only to relax when she saw who he was. She sat, shivering, in front of him, her hands and feet bound behind her.

 

“Rebecca?” Dean breathed in surprise as he came up behind his best friend, watching Arashi immediately drop to his knees to begin working on untying her. He knelt to help, working through the knots binding her ankles, “What happened?”

 

Rebecca blinked back tears, whimpering in relief as her limps were freed and rubbing at the harsh red marks that had been left behind from the ropes, “I…Akira brought me home after everything…we were just getting out of her car to go inside, but then someone attacked us…they knocked her out, then me…all I remember is going to check on her, then hearing someone sneaking up on me…when I woke up, I saw that…that thing turn into me…” she shuddered at the memory, fighting tears and the bile that burned her throat, “I don’t even…how can that be possible?” she looked between the two hunters as though willing them to explain this. Arashi smiled reassuringly, trying to calm her down.

 

“It’s going to be okay, Rebecca, we’ll explain it later.” He indicated for her to just breath, “But right now, we need to go, can you walk?” he and Dean stood, offering Rebecca their hands to help her up; she took them and stood, holding her weight steadily on her two feet, much to the hunters’ relief, “Good, we need to hurry. Sam went to see you and find Akira at your house.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

There was a dull ache throbbing just behind Akira’s eyes as she came to for the second time that day, pulling a groan from her lips as her eyes fluttered open. Darkness greeted her vision, pressing a frown onto her lips as she shifted to sit up, only for her movements to be hindered as the harsh fibers of a rope pressed into her wrists, drawing a long sigh of impatience and irritation from the young woman’s lips.

 

 _(And this guy got the best of all of us…)_ Ocean eyes blinked and flashed gold as Akira jerked her arms firmly, snapping the ropes with little difficulty and pushing herself into a seated position, _(Me twice…hopefully the guys wouldn’t have been fooled again by that jackass…)_ Her frown deepened at the thought, knowing each of the men on her team would be able to handle themselves against the shapeshifter, even if he could be slippery like a fish. Hopefully they were all in one piece…or at least somewhere safe. Now she just needed to figure out where the hell she was and find out if Rebecca was okay…hopefully the bastard hadn’t moved her far…she would teleport, but just using her abilities to see in this gloom was making her headache worse and she didn’t want to risk screwing something up if it messed with her other abilities. Keeping it small for now seemed like the safest choice at this moment.

 

A quick sweep of the space told Akira she’d been stored away in a pantry, shelves of food lining the walls from floor to ceiling, brand name labels staring back at her in the darkness. She must be in Rebecca’s parents’ house, judging by the sheer size of the pantry itself coupled with the fact it would be the closest one he would be able to store her without risking someone knowing she was there and arousing suspicion. But it didn’t look as though he’d thought to store Rebecca in here with her.

 

 _(He could have put her somewhere else, like one of the bedrooms or a closet…somewhere small she couldn’t get out of…)_ Akira hypothesized as she pulled herself to her feet, spotting the outline of the pantry door just ahead, the lights from the kitchen filtering through the cracks around the wood. Her lips pressed together, and she stepped toward it cautiously, listening intently for the sound of voices or anything being moved in the next room. Glass clinked, and she could hear bottles being handled, cabinets opening and closing as a male voice filtered through the noise. She listened intently as she reached the door; the voice was a familiar, low baritone she had come to know from adolescence, one she could recognize among a sea of others as easily as her twin or Sam’s.

 

Dean.

 

But…no, he sounded…different from how he usually did…underneath the smooth, familiar surface, Akira could hear a slightly higher pitch, like the undercurrent of a second voice hiding beneath. It was a hidden predator waiting in ambush for the perfect moment to pounce on unsuspecting prey. The shifter.

 

A second voice stopped Akira as she reached for the door knob, her heart stilling in her chest, breath in her throat as it responded to the first voice; _Sam!_

 

Clenching her fist tight, Akira listened to the shifter admits he’s going to use Dean’s face to convict him of first degree murder on Sam and kidnapping/assault of her and Rebecca to ensure he would be hunted until the end of his days. Sam asked what he was going to do about Arashi and the shifter says he isn’t sure, but figures he could be convicted as an accomplice, if he played his cards right and left some ‘physical evidence’ that would convict him as well. Akira’s temples throbbed with the spike in her temper and she had to clench her jaw tightly in order to calm her emotions, knowing if she let them get out of control, she could do something stupid and end up hurting Sam unintentionally. She had to think of something, quick, before that bastard hurt her best friend.

 

First thing first, she had to get out of this damn pantry.

 

Of course, the first thing Akira tried was the door, which was unlocked, but blocked from the outside, making her hiss out a curse under her breath. It felt like the shifter had put a chair underneath the handle, which wasn’t turning as easily as it usually would if nothing was blocking it. Well, a chair was easier to move than a big cupboard or something she and Arashi hadn’t gotten the chance to graduate to yet during their training. They were still on small things, like pillows and books, but chairs were at least within their range, so it wasn’t impossible. Now, she just had to wait for the right second to strike; if she wasn’t careful, she could put her and Sam in further danger than they were already in and she wanted to try and get them out of here in one piece…

 

Thankfully for Akira, though, she didn’t have to wait long, as the shifter soon took Sam into the next room, where she could distinctly hear them still talking. Taking a deep breath, the young woman closed her eyes, picturing the chair outside the door in her mind’s eye, willing it to move aside; the chair legs squeaked faintly against the tile floors outside as the furniture moved away from under the handle, scooting a couple of feet away, just enough for Akira to be able to swing the door open as there was the sound of something falling to the floor from the direction of the living room. Wasting no time, she crossed the kitchen to the door leading into the next room, listening to the sound of Sam fighting the shapeshifter, grunting and swearing at one another. A body came into contact with a bookshelf, which cracked and splintered loudly as the body slumped to the floor, books thundering down on top of it as Akira reached the doorway to access the situation. Sam was slumped at the bottom of the bookshelf, covered in the books and remains of the furniture as the shapeshifter picked up a pool cue from the table in the middle of the room, advancing on Sam with it held over his head.

 

“You know, even when we were kids,” he laughed, grinning down at Sam mockingly, “I always kicked your ass.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Akira grinned as she reached the shifter in a few short strides, drawing her hand back and bring it forward with as much force as she possibly could; it connected with the shifter’s cheek, sending him stumbling backward, the pool cue clattering to the floor, “If I remember correctly, you haven’t been able to beat _me_ since puberty!” she twirled on the toes of one foot, landing a swift round house kick to the back of his head, which sent him to one knee; her foot came down to catch her balance, but a hand caught the one supporting her and she was on her ass before she could blink, grabbing the wrist of the hand attempting to find a hold on her throat as the shifter tried to pin her. Sam tackled him off and the two struggle, crashing through a coffee table; the shifter manages to pin Sam, wrapping his hands tight around his throat and pressing his thumbs into his airway as the young mans tries to free himself.

 

Scrambling to her feet, Akira jumps on the shifters back and secures her arms around his neck, pressing her forearm into his throat as she pulled back with all her might; he jerks under her grasp, his grip loosening around Sam’s throat as he’s dragged back off him, clawing at the arms cutting off his air.

 

“Akira!” Dean’s voice drew the young woman’s attention to the door and she looks up in time to see him stepping trough the doorway with Arashi and Rebecca on his heels, the later of the three watching with wide, disbelieving eyes. The shifter grunts, jerking an arm back so suddenly it caught her in the face before she could defend herself, causing her to loosen her grip enough he could grab her arms and elbow her off onto the floor beside Sam, so he could turn to face the trio. took aim and fired a couple of rounds right through the creature’s heart; the imposter dropped to the floor, dead. Rebecca and Arashi rushed to Sam and Akira’s sides to make sure they were okay as Dean moves to inspect the shifter’s body. Sam and Akira sit up once they’re sure they’re okay, Rebecca, Akira, and Arashi encouraging Sam to take deep breathes as they notice Dean yank something off from around the shifter’s neck, which turns out to be his necklace. He glances up at the two, giving a faint, relieved smile at seeing they were okay as he nodded minutely. They did it, they were safe.

 

Everything was going to be okay here.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

A few days later, the team gets ready to leave and head out for their next destination, which Dean and Arashi are trying to figure out on the map they’ve got spread out over the hood of the Impala. Sam and Akira are talking to Rebecca, who they’re giving the last bit of detail about their lives growing up as hunters, although they spare her from everything, including Akira and Arashi’s mysterious origins.

 

“This is all still so unbelievable…” Rebecca shook her head as she walked the two out the front door, smiling at her friends, who return it with sheepish expressions on their faces as she looks between them, “I mean…I never thought something like this could be a job…let alone real…but, seeing all that, what you did…” she looked back inside as Sam rubbed his neck and Akira smiled faintly.

 

“Yeah, well…” she glanced up at Sam briefly, “We know it is a lot to take in…but, you know, it’s the ‘family business’, so,” she shrugged halfheartedly, unsure how else to explain it. Rebecca looked at the two again, frowning a little.

 

“So…no one knew…?” she looked at Akira, then Sam, “I know Akira said so earlier, but…not even Jason or Jessica?” The pair shook their heads, watching sadness flicker across their old classmate’s face, “That must be lonely for you both.”

 

The two begin to shake their heads as Akira chuckles, “Well, we’re not completely alone, we’ve got each other.” She put a hand on Sam’s arm, earning a faint smile in return as her eyes slid past him toward the Impala, “And our brothers. Besides, like I said,” she turned back to Rebecca, “It’s a ‘family thing’, so what could we really do?”

 

Rebecca laughs faintly in understand, nodding her head before worry and sadness laced her brow, “Well, just so you both know, Zack and I, everyone at school…we really miss you guys.” She moved toward them, hugging them both tight. Sam and Akira smiled sadly, hugging Rebecca back, “Yeah…we miss you guys, too.” They murmur together, squeezing softly before pulling back once more. Rebecca smiles at them, cocking her head.

 

“Be sure to call me sometime, okay? Especially you, Aki.” She squeezed the other young woman’s arm, “Being around guys’ all day, it’s nice to talk to another woman sometimes.”

 

“I can agree on that one.” Akira chuckled, smiling to herself as she nodded, nudging Sam toward the Impala as he chuckled, “I promise I’ll call if I need to talk, Becky. Thanks.” She squeezed Rebecca’s arm gratefully and followed him toward the cars as Rebecca waves goodbye to Dean and Arashi from the porch. They raise their hands in goodbye as she disappears back inside while Sam and Akira round the van.

 

“So, what’s the story for your guys’ friend, Zack?” Dean asked, folding up the map, his and Arashi's heads cocked. Sam smiled faintly as Arashi opened the passenger side of the Impala to sit down.

 

“Well, I guess the cops are pinnin’ the crime on this suspicious guy by the name of Dean Winchester,” he shrugged as Akira nodded, giggling, “Yeah, apparently, they found the murder weapon used on Emily in the guy’s lair, along with Zack’s stained clothes.”

 

“Hm mm,” Akira nodded, “Made ‘em think the surveillance tape did get tampered with.” Her expression softened, “Becky said Zack should be released soon.” She smiled at Sam, who looked just as enthused at the idea; Dean rolled his eyes, suppressing his own smile as Arashi chuckles. Akira rubs Sam’s arm and turns to head for the van, but Dean clears his throat, drawing the pair’s attention again.

 

“Hey, we’re sorry, guys…”

 

Akira blinks, looking quizzically at Sam before quirking her brows at Dean as Sam cocked his head curiously. Arashi smiled faintly.

 

“We’re sorry things couldn’t be different, you know?” he ran a handle through his ruffled hair, “We wish neither of you had to do stuff like this…that you could be Joe/Josie College.”

 

Understanding crossed the duo’s faces and they looked at one another again before their expressions softened as they turned back to their brothers, shrugging their shoulders.

 

“Neither of you should be sorry,” Sam smiled reassuringly, messing with his own hair, “To tell you the truth, even attending Stanford, deep down…we still felt different.”

 

Akira nodded her head in agreement, “Maybe it was just growing up the way we did or something, but it was always there, even when we weren’t involved in all this. Especially when things got weird…” she sighed, remembering how she’d struggled to ignore the strange signs that had begun popping up out of nowhere in the time she and Sam had lived here. Arashi smiled reassuringly at her, taking his twin’s hand as Dean chuckled faintly.

 

“Well…you two are freaks.” He smiled at his younger siblings, inclining his head as Sam wrinkled his nose at him to hide his smile, “But, Arashi and I are freaks, too, so at least you’re not alone. None of us are.” Sam, Arashi, and Akira all chuckled their agreement, knowing none of them would ever be alone as long as they were all together. Dean smiled, watching them before a thoughtful look crossed his face.

 

“You know, I gotta say,” he rubbed his chin, “I’m kinda sorry I’m gonna miss it.”

 

The three younger hunters cocked their heads curiously as they looked at him and Sam arched a brow, “Miss what?”

 

Dean grinned, chuckling to himself, “Hey, how many chances am I gonna have to see my own funeral?” he snickered, earning a chorus of laughs from the others as they exchange bemused looks among themselves. Dean beams and climbs into the Impala as Sam joins Akira in her van, watching St. Louis disappear behind them through the side mirror, vaguely wondering when or if they would ever be able to see it again. He would hope, maybe one day…when they could come and finish college and have the lives they wanted. When they could attempt to put the lives of hunters behind them again. But, that would have to wait. It had to.

 

First, he had to find Jessica’s killer and his father. And he would, Sam was sure of it.


End file.
